Monthly Archives: November 2013

A federal judge has set a September 2014 trial date for a lawsuit seeking to overturn Texas’ Voter ID — just ahead of a pivotal general election. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos said Friday the trial will start September 2 in Corpus Christi. Opponents hope to halt the law before next year’s much-watched election. Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is running to replace Governor Rick Perry in 2014, is defending the 2011 law. His office declined to comment Friday. The law requires Texans to show one of six forms of identification at the polls.

Virginia: Herring lawyer: recount “extremely unlikely” to give Obenshain win | Daily Press

State Sen. Mark Herring launched something of a pre-emptive strike Monday, ahead of next week’s certification of the election results in the attorney general’s race. The Democrat currently leads by a scant 164 votes over Republican state Sen. Mark Obenshain. In a conference call with reporters, an election lawyer working for Herring said the small margin is deceptive, arguing Virginia’s rules governing recounts make it all but impossible for Obenshain to turn the tide. The lawyer, Marc Elias, said it’s similarly unlikely that the vote total will budge much between now and the Nov. 25 vote certification. Elias, who lives in Northern Virginia and works at a Washington, D.C., firm, represented U.S. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota in a 2008 recount that changed the outcome of a close election there. Elias said Virginia election law provides less possibility for votes to change in a recount than Minnesota’s law. Specifically, he said results from touchscreen voting machines, which are used in much of the state, typically don’t change during a recount.

Virginia: Democrats To Pick Senate Nominee Saturday | Leesburg Today

With Mark Herring considered Virginia’s attorney general-elect, pending a recount, Democrats in Loudoun and Fairfax counties have announced they will hold a Firehouse Primary Saturday to choose the party’s nominee to fill the 33rd District Senate seat. Two candidates have filed to run for the nomination, Leesburg attorney Jennifer T. Wexton and Herndon Town Councilmember Sheila A. Olem. With all the votes reported from the local registrar’s offices throughout the state, Herring, a Loudoun Democrat, pulled ahead of Republican Mark Obenshain last week in the attorney general’s race by a narrow margin of 164 votes out of the more than 2.2 million cast.

Virginia: Attorney general race thrusts provisional ballot into spotlight | Fredricksburg.com

The minuscule margin of votes between Virginia’s two attorney general candidates has brought renewed attention to a relatively new aspect of voting in Virginia: the provisional ballot. There were about 3,170 provisional votes cast in the attorney general’s race on Election Day, out of 2.2 million total votes. The difference between the two candidates is currently 164 votes. Before 2012, voters that poll workers could not find on poll books could vote if they signed an affidavit that they were who they said they were and were registered to vote. But lawmakers felt that wasn’t secure enough. The provisional ballot, created by state law in 2012, is how people vote if they show up at the polls and have no identification, or if there is some doubt about whether they are registered to vote or registered at the precinct where they have come to vote.

Canada: Liberals pour cold water on Mayor Rob Fords call for snap election | GlobalPost

Ontario’s Liberal government made it clear Monday it was not open to a request from embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford for a snap municipal election so voters can decide if he should be booted out of office after admitting he smoked crack cocaine. “It’s not something we’re considering at the moment,” Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey told reporters. “We’re not considering changing the electoral period that members sit. It’s not something we’re contemplating.” The province probably wouldn’t be open to changing the election date even if the request comes from the entire Toronto city council, added Jeffrey. Mayor Ford himself has spoken out against the cost of special elections, noted Finance Minister Charles Sousa. “The antics that are occurring in Toronto are distressing and concerning, but the last thing we want is for more disruption,” said Sousa. “Council has a job to do, let them do it, and we’ll wait to see when the next general election occurs in October.” Premier Kathleen Wynne has repeatedly said she wants city council to deal with Ford, and would step in only if there is a specific request from the city, and only if all three parties in the legislature approved any provincial action.

Madagascar: Electoral court rejects demand for cancellation of election results | Globaltimes.cn

Madagascar’s Special Electoral Court (CES) has rejected a demand for the cancellation of election results, the CES said on Monday. Five of 33 candidates in the first round of presidential election held in Madagascar on Oct. 25 had demanded the revocation of election results under the pretext of “fraud, use of public prerogatives by certain candidates and bad organization of the election.” The candidates making the demand include Voninahitsy Jean Eugene, who won 2.13 percent, and Lahiniriko Jean, who scored 0.87 percent. Some candidates had also asked for postponing the election or re-organizing the first round of election. “The CES declares admissible applications … asking cancellation of the vote nationally, but rejects as unfounded,” the CES said in its website.

Mauritania: Police beat protesters urging poll boycott | Ahram Online

Mauritanian police on Monday crushed a protest by hundreds of youths demanding a boycott of upcoming elections, wounding several. An AFP reporter saw police beat the activists and spray them with tear gas as they waved placards and chanted slogans outside the offices of the election commission in the capital Nouakchott, calling for a boycott of Saturday’s parliamentary and local elections. “The police violently attacked the demonstrators despite the peaceful nature of their movement, using tear gas and batons,” said Idoumou Ould Mohamed Lemine, spokesman for the Coordination of Democratic Opposition (COD) that organised the protest.

Nepal: Elections key to peace process in Nepal | AFP

Polling stations in Nepal opened early Tuesday for elections that will be crucial in completing a peace process stalled for several years since the end of a decade-long civil war. “Voting has begun all over the country,” Bir Bahadur Rai, a spokesman for the election commission, told AFP. The vote is only the second since a civil war launched by Maoist rebels concluded in 2006, ending royal rule and transforming the Himalayan nation into a secular republic. Voters lined up outside polling stations nearly an hour before the polls opened on a foggy day in the capital, AFP reporters said, despite fears that many might stay home after recent violence by anti-election hardliners. Nepalis flocked to the ballot box in the first constituent assembly elections in 2008 and delivered an overwhelming victory to the Maoist party, but have since grown frustrated following years of political infighting.

Editorials: Scotland’s referendum is not democratic if prisoners are excluded | Tony Kelly/theguardian.com

In September 2014, some of the people of Scotland will participate in a referendum on Scottish independence. This is not the first time the issue has arisen, but it is the first time the country has embarked upon this process with the express aim of being open, transparent, inclusive and democratic. However, a question mark remains over the description of the referendum process as truly democratic, because of the unjustified exclusion of a group of Scotland’s citizens from the most important political choice made by us in more than 300 years– the 6,500 men and women who are currently in a Scottish prison. Their exclusion from this profoundly important choice has no remedy, no repeat opportunity. Unlike general elections, which are held every five years, this referendum is, as political leaders repeatedly tell us, a historic “once in a lifetime” event. It is justified on the basis that prisoners have in some way excluded themselves by their conduct – from society, from the franchise, from this choice. They have not.

Editorials: Voter Suppression’s New Pretext | Rick Hasen/New York Times

It’s the latest fad among state officials looking to make voting harder: We’re not racist, we’re just partisan. Some background: In June, the Supreme Court struck down a core provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, under which nine states and portions of others had to get federal approval before changing their election laws. One of those states, Texas, is again in court, facing a Justice Department suit seeking to get the state under federal oversight again. To do so, the Justice Department must prove intentional racial discrimination. Texas’ defense? It’s discrimination, all right — but it’s on the basis of party, not race, and therefore it’s O.K. Says Texas: “It is perfectly constitutional for a Republican-controlled legislature to make partisan districting decisions, even if there are incidental effects on minority voters who support Democratic candidates.” Leaving aside that whopper — laws that dilute black and Hispanic voting power have more than an “incidental” impact — the statement, part of a court filing in August, was pretty brazen. Minority voters, in Texas and elsewhere, tend to support Democrats. So Republican officials, especially but not only in the South, want to reduce early voting; impose voter-identification requirements; restrict voter registration; and, critically, draw districts either to crowd as many minority voters into as few districts as possible, or dilute concentrations of minority voters by dispersing them into as many white-controlled districts as possible.

Voting Blogs: The Mystery of Election Costs | Election Administration Theories and Praxis

Seldom does a week goes by that I am not asked by a jurisdiction to provide estimates of election costs for a series of hypothetical scenarios under consideration. In the US there is a wide range of costs for an election depending upon the county, the date, the number of participants and the accounting and billing methods used by a county. Providing an estimate is not a science- it is an art form. An estimate must not understate the actual costs that will be billed nor should it greatly overstate the costs. Estimates which are not in-line with the actual costs undermine the credibility of election officials and invites accountants and financial managers to scrutinize the way election costs are calculated, often opening up a window into the bizarre and byzantine. We live in a society where the price of almost everything we purchase is pre-determined and not subject to negotiation- with the notable exceptions of real estate and autos. The price of a gallon of milk is clearly marked, doesn’t change from one customer to another and does not change between the trek from refrigerator case to the checkstand. The price doesn’t vary by the number other people buying milk from the same store on the same day. The price per ounce is based upon the contents and not by the portion consumed.

Alabama: Voter ID law to be enforced | Decatur Daily

The Alabama Secretary of State will take the first major step in implementing a voter identification law Dec. 5, but some question whether the law places an unnecessary and discriminatory burden on voters. “It does not make it impossible to vote, but it creates hurdles,” said Decatur City Councilman Billy Jackson, who represents the district with the city’s highest poverty rate and highest percentage of black voters. “The sad thing is the hurdles are greatest for exactly the people who already feel their vote does not count.” The law, passed in 2011, requires voters to present a photo ID when they vote. Beginning in January, voters will have to present a driver’s license, a passport, a college ID with a photo or other government-issued photo IDs in order to vote. Previously, prospective voters could use non-photo IDs, including utility bills, Medicare or Medicaid cards, gun permits, fishing licenses, Social Security cards and birth certificates.

Arizona: Illegal immigrant vote-fraud cases rare in Arizona | Arizona Republic

Arizona has spent enormous amounts of time and money waging war against voter fraud, citing the specter of illegal immigrants’ casting ballots. State officials from Gov. Jan Brewer to Attorney General Tom Horne to Secretary of State Ken Bennett swear it’s a problem. At an August news conference, Horne and Bennett cited voter-fraud concerns as justification for continuing a federal-court fight over state voter-ID requirements. And some Republican lawmakers have used the same argument to defend a package of controversial new election laws slated to go before voters in November 2014. But when state officials are pushed for details, the numbers of actual cases and convictions vary and the descriptions of the alleged fraud become foggy or based on third-hand accounts.

Connecticut: Election Day Registration Enables Nearly 2 000 To Vote | Public News Service

This month’s municipal elections in Connecticut marked the first time voters there could register on election day, and local advocates and election officials say the process worked well. Secretary of State Denise Merrill was expecting it would mostly be younger residents showing up for same-day registration, but she said the new option attracted voters of all ages. “This is the first election it’s in effect and it did very well; we had no problems, and we think about between 1500 and 2000 people took advantage of it.” Merrill said election-day registration was particularly popular in New Haven, and most importantly, she said, it gave many people a chance to vote who otherwise would have been left out.

District of Columbia: Judge Denies Lawsuit to Hold DC Attorney General Election in 2014 | Washingtonian

A federal judge denied lawyer Paul Zukerberg’s lawsuit against a DC Council bill to delay the election of the District’s attorney general until at least 2018, dealing a severe blow to Zukerberg’s campaign to be the first person voted into that position. Judge James E. Boasberg wrote in his opinion that while Zukerberg raised several valid points about the uncertainty about the scheduling of an attorney general election, the case did not belong in his courtroom because the delay bill is not settled law. “While Zukerberg raises an interesting challenge, the Court has no power to rule on that question today, as none of his claims is ripe for review,” Boasberg wrote.

Editorials: Courts should reject new law governing third parties in Ohio | Aaron Keith Harris/Cleveland Plain Dealer

Most Americans have a general sense that the Republican and Democrat parties have too much control over our political system and electoral process, but, for Ohio voters, Senate Bill 193 is a stark demonstration of just how ruthless those in power work to fend off challenges to the status quo. Passed earlier this month, and signed by Gov. Kasich, SB 193 removes all challenger parties from the Ohio ballot in 2014, and makes it more difficult for them to regain status as a recognized political party in Ohio. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bill Seitz said he introduced the bill because Ohio had no election law in place for minor parties. This is true, having been the case since 2006 when a federal court declared Ohio minor party law unconstitutional in LPO v. Blackwell.

Virginia: The victor in Virginia’s attorney general race stands a chance of losing | MSNBC

Even if Democrat Mark Herring ends up with more votes than his Republican rival Mark Obenshain in the tightly contested Virginia attorney general’s race, he could still lose. Herring is currently ahead of Obenshain by a follicle–the current official count states that Herring has 164 more votes than Obenshain out of more than two million cast. A recount is all but guaranteed and litigation seems likely. But even if after the dust clears Herring remains in the lead, under Virginia law, Obenshain could contest the result in the Republican dominated Virginia legislature, which could declare Obenshain the winner or declare the office vacant and order a new election. “If they can find a hook to demonstrate some sort of irregularity, then there’s nothing to prevent them from saying our guy wins,” says Joshua Douglas, an election law expert and professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law. “There’s no rules here, besides outside political forces and public scrutiny.” An election contest is a specific post-election procedure for disputing the official outcome of an election. Different states have different rules for election contests–some put them in the hands of the courts, others in the hands of the legislature. Obenshain couldn’t simply contest the election out of the blue. He’d have to argue that some sort of irregularity affected the result. Still, Virginia law is relatively vague in explaining what would justify an election contest, and historical precedent suggests that co-partisans in the legislature are unlikely to reach a decision that hurts their candidate.

Editorials: Virginia Attorney General Election: When voters don’t decide | Reuters

Voters decide who wins an election, right? Not necessarily. In fact, we may see partisan operatives determine the winner in the razor-thin race for Virginia’s attorney general. After the initial count, Democrat Mark Herring is ahead of Republican Mark Obenshain by a mere 164 votes out of 2.2 million. If Herring remains on top after a recount and any federal court litigation, then the next step is for the Republican candidate to initiate an “election contest” with the Virginia General Assembly. This election contest is a procedure in which the losing candidate disputes the certified results. States have varying ways to resolve these controversies — and most use a process that allows partisans to determine the ultimate winner. There are better solutions, however, than allowing a partisan legislature to decide. We can minimize ideology, actual or perceived, by creating a bipartisan entity that would resolve a post-election battle. Yet in Virginia an election contest goes to the General Assembly sitting as a joint session, with the speaker of the House of Delegates presiding. Republicans now control a majority of the Virginia General Assembly seats — and have been pushing through a socially conservative agenda.

Chile: Bachelet tops Chile presidential vote; faces runoff | Associated Press

Michelle Bachelet won nearly twice as many votes as her closest rival in Chile’s presidential election Sunday, but she fell short of the outright majority needed to avoid a Dec. 15 runoff. With more than 92% of votes counted, the moderate socialist Bachelet had nearly 47%, to 25% for conservative Evelyn Matthei. Seven other candidates trailed far behind. Bachelet predicted she would win big in the second round and push forward major social reforms. “We’re going to have a decisive and strong victory that backs up the transformation program that we have been building,” she said. Matthei’s campaign celebrated getting another try at Bachelet, this time in a one-on-one race. “Going into a second round is certainly a triumph,” an exultant Matthei told supporters.

Guinea-Bissau: Elections postponed until next year | Business Standard

Guinea-Bissau said today it was postponing national elections which had been due to take place in nine days until March next year. “The presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on March 16, 2014,” the transitional regime said in a presidential decree, announcing that it would “immediately cancel the elections previously set for November 24, 2013”. The decree said the postponement was agreed by the transitional government, political parties and the electoral commission, but did not specify a reason for the decision. The polls were originally pencilled in for May but in January transitional president Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo said such a short time frame was “technically” impossible.

Kosovo: Serbs revote in tense northern Kosovo city amid high security | The Washington Post

Minority Serbs in a tense northern Kosovo city cast ballots under tight security on Sunday, redoing a vote that was derailed when masked men attacked staff and destroyed voting materials. Special police units in bulletproof vests backed by members of the European Union police and justice mission and armed NATO peacekeepers stood outside polling stations to prevent a repeat of the electoral violence that stopped the Nov. 3 poll in ethnically divided Mitrovica. The incident was blamed on hardline Serbs who fear the vote endorses Kosovo’s 2008 secession from Serbia. Kosovo authorities said Sunday that voter turnout to elect a mayor of the Serb-run part of the city and members of the local council was 22 percent.

Maldives: New president sworn in | Al Jazeera

The Maldives’ newly-elected President Abdulla Yameen pledged Sunday to end two years of political turmoil that have brought violent protests to the popular high-end tourist destination, as he was sworn in after defeating the favorite Mohamed Nasheed in a runoff. The win was a victory for the political old guard, who rallied around Yameen to defeat Nasheed – who was the Maldives’ first democratically elected leader, and was forced to resign last year in what he said was a coup. The election was the fourth attempt to choose a new president after three earlier ballots were either canceled or delayed, adding to tension between the rival political groups and drawing international condemnation. Yameen won 51.4 percent of the votes in Saturday’s ballot, in which 91 percent of the 240,000-strong electorate took part. “Rising out of political turmoil and establishing peace is a big responsibility as Maldives’ president and head of state,” Yameen said in his inaugural speech, after he was sworn in at a special session of parliament.

Nepal: Transgenders shut out of voting | AFP

As a Nepalese transgender dancer in her twenties, Nazia Shilalik says her gender has cost her jobs, respect and soon, she believes, it will cost her a vote in upcoming elections. Transgenders had high hopes six years ago when Nepal’s Supreme Court approved third gender citizenship — part of a judgment that ordered the government to enact laws to guarantee the rights of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. But now the fundamental human rights changes that transgenders anticipated look elusive because of a lack of documentation proving their identity. “I would love to (vote), but I know I will not get the chance because I am a transgender person,” said Shilalik. Despite the landmark ruling, the vast majority of transgender people in Nepal are still waiting to obtain vital documentation officially recognising their third sex gender.

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly – November 11-17 2013

November 17, 2013

maldives_260 Efforts are quietly underway in Congress to reinvigorate measures in the Voting Rights Act that were weakened by a Supreme Court decision last summer. Rick Hasen considers the new argument for voter suppression and whether it is any more acceptable to create procedural barriers for certain voters for partisan advantage. Heather Gerken defended the value of the Presidential commission on election administration. A judge in Iowa suspended a controversial voter purge while court challenges are pending. Election lawyers have arrived in Virginia for the anticipated legal battle over the State’s razor-thin Attorney General race. The two week trial over Wisconsin’s Voter ID law concluded the same day that the State Assembly passed modifications to the law. The State of Western Australia Senate election is headed for a re-vote after almost 1400 ballots went missing and protests turned violent as the Maldives Presidential election was delayed.

National: Republican Party Weighs a 2016 Shakeup With ‘Midwestern Primary’ | The Daily Beast

The national Republican Party is considering a number of major changes to its presidential nominating process to avoid a repeat of the debacles of 2012, according to several party officials. Most significantly, the party is considering holding a “Midwestern primary” featuring Great Lakes states such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin that would come immediately after the votes in the traditional early primary states. Also being weighed and thought likely to be approved when the Republican National Committee meets in early 2014 is a plan to shorten the primary season considerably by holding the party’s convention in July, almost as soon as the last primary ballots are cast. The move toward a “Midwestern Super Tuesday” after the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida appears aimed in part at wresting control of the nominating process from social conservatives in the South in an effort to produce a nominee more likely to carry the election in November. Nearly all the “Rust Belt” states have fallen into Democratic hands in recent elections, and GOP officials believe that showering them with more resources throughout the primary process—and ensuring that an eventual nominee is broadly popular there—could flip the Midwest into the Republican column in November.

National: Democrats tread carefully on voting rights bill | The Hill

Democrats in both chambers are working behind the scenes to draft legislation to re-install the Voting Rights Act protections shot down by the Supreme Court over the summer. But in a sign of the delicate nature of the topic, Senate Democrats are taking care not to rush ahead of the House, for fear of sinking the bill’s chances in the GOP-controlled lower chamber. Instead, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is working with House Democrats and a small contingent of House Republicans – notably former Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (Wis.), who championed the 2006 VRA reauthorization – in an effort to defuse the partisan politics surrounding the thorny issue and forge a bill that has the best chance of becoming law. “We’ve had hearings and now we’re just trying to quietly get some support, because I don’t want to bring up something that doesn’t go anywhere,” Leahy said Thursday.

Editorials: Digital election reforms will encourage participation in our democratic process | The Buffalo News

Another Election Day has come and gone, giving us a chance to consider an unresolved issue. That is, how to improve the American voting system. We are still operating under some obsolete rules and procedures. Those need to change if we ever hope to reverse the woeful turnouts of recent elections and ensure that all eligible citizens are able to register and vote without undue barriers. The proposed Voter Empowerment Act of 2013 has a component called Voter Registration Modernization that is intended to bring the American voting system into the 21st century. It is based on proposals from the Brennan Center for Justice, a legal advocacy group in New York. It requires the government to take responsibility for making sure that every eligible voter can become registered and remain that way. Modernizing voter registration, securely, might involve electronic, online and same-day registration. The bill has other aspects that would need more discussion, but the part dealing with technology seems clear-cut.

Florida: Detzner claims one of “main functions” of SAVE is to check voter registration. But that’s not what DHS data shows. | Miami Herald

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner has been on a public relations mission to defend his plan to use federal Homeland Security data to search for noncitizens on the voting rolls. The key to the revamped process is using a federal resource of data, called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE. Detzner defended the use of SAVE for voter registration purposes during a Nov. 4 hearing before the Senate committee on ethics and elections. He said using SAVE to check voter registration is one of its primary uses.

Iowa: Polk County judge suspends voter fraud rules | The Des Moines Register

Controversial rules governing voter fraud investigations will remain suspended until the conclusion of a lawsuit challenging their legality. A Polk County judge on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction against implementation of the rules. The move is a positive development for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa, which brought the suit against Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz. At issue are rules written by Schultz’s office guiding the process by which the state may verify a voter’s eligibility and strip the voting rights of those found to be ineligible.

Ohio: Debate Heating Up Again Over Voter ID in Ohio | Northeast Ohio Public Radio