The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly March 3-9 2014
With the announcement of a nine stage month-long election process to begin April 7 in the world’s largest democracy, India, as well elections in Afghanistan, Algeria, and several other countries, April will see the historically largest number of voters to cast a vote in any single month. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on McCutcheon v. FEC this week. A judge in Iowa invalidated a rule issued by Secretary of State Matt Schultz that screens voters against a Federal database. A Federal judge ruled that North Carolina must provide groups suing to overturn last year’s voting law with documents created even after it was signed last summer. Cuyahoga County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald has submitted legislation asserting his right to mail out unsolicited absentee ballot applications to all registered voters in the county, a move that would be in direct contradiction to a recently-passed state law. New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardiner, bound by State law to hold the first Presidential primary in the election cycle has urged Utah lawmakers to reject a bill that would try to put the Beehive State ahead of the New Hampshire primary or the Iowa caucuses. The Russian-controlled parliament of Ukraine’s Crimea area voted Thursday to secede and join Russia, and set a March 16 election for succession.