Connecticut: Citizen Audit Finds Little Improvement In Election Audits | Connecticut Plus

On Monday, the Connecticut Citizen Election Audit released its report on the November 2013 post-election audits. Coalition spokesperson Luther Weeks noted, “When compared with audits in 2011 and 2012 we found little difference, positive or negative, on the issues previously identified and the level of concerns affecting confidence.” The report concluded that the official audit results do not inspire confidence because of the continued: Lack of consistency, reliability, and transparency in the conduct of the audit, and discrepancies between machine counts and hand counts reported to the Secretary of the State by municipalities.

Massachusetts: Election reform bill will increase voter turnout, officials say | The Daily Free Press

In hopes of spurring an increase in voter turnout, an election reform bill is moving through the State House that would ensure early voting, online voter registration and pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds in Massachusetts. Under the new law, there would be an early voting period beginning 10 days before Election Day and ending two days before Election Day. Additionally, both online registration and pre-registration for teenagers coming up on their 18th birthday will make voting more convenient for residents of Massachusetts. Altogether, 32 other states so far have passed similar bills.

Editorials: Modernize Massachusetts Elections | Pam Wilmot/The Boston Globe

The Presidential Commission on Election Administration recently released a report on ways to make American elections run more smoothly and to reduce long lines at the polls. The bipartisan commission, co-chaired by the head election attorneys from President Barack Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s campaigns, found than 5 million people had to wait longer than an hour to vote in 2012. Some voters waited for more than six hours! Even here in Massachusetts, thousands of urban voters waited in long lines of up to three hours. Others understandably could not wait that long and went home. Still others were turned away because of issues around inactive voting lists, registration glitches, and their inability to legally obtain an absentee ballot. Thankfully all of the Commission on Election Administration’s top legislative recommendations were recently passed by the Massachusetts Senate in a groundbreaking election modernization bill. These recommendations were online voter registration, early voting, permanent voter registration, and post-election audits of election equipment.

Missouri: House passes two voter identification bills last week | Neosho Daily News

Nationwide, state governments are considering passing or have already passed legislation that would require voters to show photo identification before voting.  Last week, the Missouri House spent considerable time debating and then passing two voter photo identification bills. House Joint Resolution 47 (HJR 47) and House Bill 1073 (HB 1073) would both require a photo ID for individuals to vote in Missouri. These two bills are now on their way to the Missouri Senate for its approval. Attempts have been made in our state to pass voter photo identification laws, and our 2006 Missouri’s General Assembly passed the first such law. It was signed by the governor, but ultimately was struck down by Missouri’s Supreme Court as being unconstitutional. Photo identification voting laws have always stirred up partisan party politics, but supporters of this measure — mostly conservative Republicans — contend that photo ID laws are common sense protection against fraudulent voting.

Montana: Attorney submits initiative to fill Senate vacancies by special election | Associated Press

A Helena attorney submitted a ballot initiative proposal Tuesday that would change Montana law to remove the power of filling U.S. Senate vacancies from the governor and instead require special elections. The process was in the spotlight last month when Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock named his lieutenant governor, John Walsh, to replace longtime U.S. Sen. Max Baucus. Republican legislative leaders criticized Bullock’s selection, saying it was done in secrecy and with no input from the public. The proposal by attorney James Brown calls for holding a special primary election within 60 days of the governor being notified of a Senate vacancy. The primary would be followed by a special general election between 50 and 85 days later. The winner would serve until the next regular general election.

New York: Storage of Niagara County voting machines an issue | The Buffalo News

Niagara County apparently will need a new place to store its voting machines. As Minority Leader Dennis F. Virtuoso, D-Niagara Falls, had promised last summer, he and his fellow Democrats introduced a resolution at Tuesday’s meeting of the County Legislature calling for fresh bidding on the storage space lease. For the last six years, the county has been storing the machines in a former mattress factory on Transit Road in Newfane, owned by Lockport real estate developer David L. Ulrich. The $86,400-a-year lease for the 28,000-square-foot space renews automatically every Aug. 1 unless one side or the other gives notice 120 days in advance. And Ulrich gave that notice in a letter Thursday to County Manager Jeffrey M. Glatz. Last year, the Legislature considered seeking new bids, but Virtuoso raised the issue within the 120-day window for renewal notice, so County Attorney Claude A. Joerg ruled it was too late for action. Virtuoso said at the time he would bring the issue up again early in 2014.

Texas: Primary Elections Mark Start of State Balloting With ID Laws | Bloomberg

Texans will have to prove who they are to cast ballots today, beginning a series of U.S state elections that will show the effect of laws pushed by Republicans requiring photo identification at the polls. Nine states this year are holding their first major votes – – including for governor and Congress — under such laws, according to the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for many such requirements last year after throwing out a core element of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was meant to enfranchise blacks in the segregated South.

Editorials: What the Texas primary will – and won’t – tell us about voter ID | Michael Li/TXRedistricting

A number of news outlets have described the 2014 Texas primary as the first big test for the state’s voter ID law – and that’s true, to an extent. But it’s important to understand the limitations and caveats of the “test.” For starters, although voter turnout almost certainly will exceed the 8.55% of the state’s registered voters who turned out in November 2013 to vote on constitutional amendments, it is not clear that turnout will much exceed – if at all – the combined 16.6% of voters who voted in the 2010 Democratic and Republican primaries. That’s a far cry from the 38% of voters who voted in the 2010 general election (when Texas had the lowest voter turnout in the country) and even further from the 58.6% of voters who cast a ballot in the last presidential election. In other words, while the primary may be a stress test, over relying on it is a bit like using how a well a city does with a quarter inch of ice to predict how the city would do with a major snowstorm. Disaster with a quarter inch of ice – or in a low turnout primary – would be bad sign indeed, but the opposite can’t be said to be necessarily true.

Utah: House OKs bill to put Utah primary first, online | Daily Herald

A House committee has given approval to legislation that would seek to put Utah first in line to hold a presidential primary election and also calls for it to be done online. The House Political Subdivisions Committee approved the bill, H.B. 410, on Tuesday night that would bump off Iowa and New Hampshire as the presidential wine tasters in the nation and move the Beehive state to the prominent spot of having a significant role in presidential primary politics, first. “I believe that our current presidential nominating process is blatantly discriminatory,” said Rep. Jon Cox, R-Ephraim, the sponsor of the legislation. “I believe it creates second class states.” Cox’s bill would only create a mechanism for the primary to be held. Under the bill the Legislature would have the option to decide, at a later date, if it wants go first in the election season but does call for the elections to be held online, a move that cuts the cost of holding the election in half to an estimated $1.6 million.

Australia: Two more enquiries to be held into Australian Electoral Commission following lost vote debacle | Sydney Morning Herald

After the humiliation of losing more than 1300 votes and the resignation of top officials, the Australian Electoral Commission faces yet more pressure with the Auditor-General launching a major investigation into the electoral body. Fairfax Media can reveal the national audit office is pursuing two audits of the AEC after the 2013 WA Senate election result was declared void by the High Court. Due in part to the AEC’s loss of the ballot papers, West Australians will vote again on April 5 for a re-run of last year’s election, at a cost of around $20 million. The ballot debacle, which was blamed on “lax supervision” and a “complacent attitude” within the AEC in an investigation by former Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty, resulted in the resignation of the AEC’s electoral commissioner Ed Killesteyn and state manager Peter Kramer.

Australia: Electoral Commission agrees to refund $2000 nomination fee for botched WA Senate vote | Sydney Morning Herald

Voters in Western Australia will be confronted with the biggest ballot paper they have seen after the Australian Electoral Commission bowed to pressure and agreed to refund nomination fees for minor parties that contested the botched Senate vote in September. A number of grassroots parties had written to the AEC complaining they would be unable to run again if the $2000 deposit they paid per candidate nomination were not returned to be used again for the April 5 election. Most minor political parties paid a minimum $4000 for two candidates to qualify for ”above the line” voting and take part in the preference swap deals that provide their only hope of election.

Bulgaria: Parliament overturns presidential veto of election code | The Sofia Globe

The National Assembly voted on March 4 to overturn President Rossen Plevneliev’s veto of a number of provisions of the Election Code. The vote was 138 to 80, with the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Ataka, as well as three “independent” MPs voting together, and only centre-right opposition party GERB voting to accept Plevneliev’s decision to return several parts of the controversial legislation to Parliament for reconsideration. Plevneliev spelt out his objections in detail on February 28 in a written response to the law that had been approved by Parliament seven days earlier, and the March 4 special sitting was called to respond. In swift succession, the ad hoc committee on the electoral legislation – headed by Maya Manolova, the BSP MP who had the task of getting the Election Code through Parliament – overturned the veto, followed by the vote in the House.

Canada: NDP site the weak link in online attack during 2012 leadership vote | CBC News

An online attack that delayed the results of the NDP’s 2012 leadership vote succeeded because it hit the party’s website, not the site of the company running the online vote, a company representative says. The voting that chose Tom Mulcair as the New Democratic Party’s leader was besieged by a “distributed denial of service” attack, which bombards a server with repeated attempts at communication to try to slow it down or crash it altogether. The process was delayed by several hours and left many delegates complaining they couldn’t access the site to cast their ballots. At the time, neither the NDP, nor Scytl, the company that provided the online voting service, would explain beyond saying it was a denial of service attack. But Scytl representatives now say the attack hit the NDP’s website and that its own technology was never compromised.

Ukraine: Crimea sets March 16 vote on seceding from Ukraine, joining Russia | Los Angeles Times

The Russian-controlled parliament of Ukraine’s Crimea area voted Thursday to secede and join Russia, and set a March 16 public vote on the latest move aimed at wresting the strategic peninsula from Ukraine. Officials in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev said such a vote would be meaningless as the Ukrainian constitution requires that any changes to national borders or territory be voted on by the entire country. The referendum on Crimea’s future, announced by the region’s first deputy prime minister, Rustam Temirgaliev, moved up the date for the controversial vote by two weeks. Ukraine’s National Defense and Security Council called an emergency session to respond to the Crimean action, the Ukraine Crisis Media Center reported.

National: Voter ID laws to get big test in primaries | Associated Press

In elections that begin this week, voters in 10 states will be required to present photo identification before casting ballots – the first major test of voter ID laws after years of legal challenges arguing that the measures are designed to suppress voting. The first election is Tuesday in Texas, followed by nine other primaries running through early September that will set the ballot for the midterm elections in November, when voters decide competitive races for governor and control of Congress. The primaries will be closely watched by both sides of the voter ID debate, which intensified in 2011, the year after Republicans swept to power in dozens of statehouses. For months, election workers have been preparing new voting procedures, while party activists and political groups seek ID cards for voters who do not have them.

Editorials: Improving access with online voter registration in Connecticut | Easton Courier

Last week, Connecticut took an important step in making the right to vote accessible to more people by embarking on a statewide online voter registration system. This new system will make the first hurdle to casting a ballot — registration — that much easier to surmount. While registering for the first time is seen as a rite of passage by many, including 18-year-olds and new citizens, it can be a challenge for those who work or are away at school when town offices are open or who lack the means to get to town hall. This is especially true for those who live in Connecticut’s cities and larger towns. While there is a mail-in process, that has its pitfalls as well. Using the Internet also simplifies the process for people who simply want to make a change to their registration. Perhaps they want to align with a political party so they may participate in a primary. Or, maybe they just need to inform of a change of address.

Indiana: 3,700 Warrick County votes not counted in 2012 due to technical error | Evansville Courier & Press

More than 3,700 absentee ballots cast in-person in Warrick County for the November 2012 general election weren’t counted due to an error made by an electronic voting machine technician, county officials confirmed Monday. According to the Warrick County Clerk Sarah Redman’s office, Indianapolis-based MicroVote, which services the county’s electronic voting machines, found that one of its electronic technicians inadvertently incorrectly uploaded votes cast early at the Warrick County Election Office. The technician reportedly used a microchip card-reader that didn’t have the storage capacity to hold the total amount of early votes cast. The error resulted in only 10 percent of in-person, early votes being tallied by the county for the 2012 general election — leaving 3,791 Warrick County votes behind. “And nobody ever caught the error until Pat (King) went looking,” said Kevin Derr, chairman of the Warrick County Democrats Central Committee.

Iowa: Senate passes online voter registration bill | Associated Press

A bill that would set up a system for online voter registration in Iowa unanimously passed in the Senate on Monday without debate and moved to the House for further work on verification of electronic signatures. Under the bill, which passed 48-0, voters must provide the same information required on other voter registration forms. They would use the secretary of state’s website to electronically register. Those registering must have an Iowa driver’s license, a Social Security number or other identifying number, and they must attest that all information is correct. The measure makes fraudulent electronic registration a class D felony.

Mississippi: Election reform bill dies in committee | Hattiesburg American

The problems plaguing the 2013 mayoral election in Hattiesburg may have captured the Pine Belt’s attention. But, in Jackson, they took a backseat to swine. At least, according to one disappointed lawmaker, Rep. Toby Barker, R-Hattiesburg. “I saw more time spent on the issue of wild hogs than I saw for meaningful discussion on our antiquated election laws,” said Barker, the principal author of the Municipal Election Reform Act of 2014. Barker and fellow Republican Pine Belt legislators unveiled the reform bill with great fanfare in mid-January. But the bill died a quick, silent death in committee just two weeks later without being brought to a vote.

Nevada: Devices to speed up voting process | Nevada Appeal

Carson City’s consolidated city-county government is moving to electronic poll books for elections. The devices should cut down on voting time and eventually also should save money, though the initial cost will be somewhat higher as voters get identified by the new process in the June primary and November general election here, according to officials at the clerk-recorder’s office. “This is really a major leap forward for elections,” said Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover, citing at least 50 percent faster processing that will precede voting when each voter must be identified. “We’re the first county in the state of Nevada to use them,” added his chief deputy, Sue Merriwether. “They replace the paper rosters on election day.”

New York: New York City Council Aiming to Abolish Runoff Elections | Wall Street Journal

The City Council has identified instant runoff voting—and the end of citywide runoff elections—as one of several dozen budget and legislative priorities in Albany, according to a report to be released by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Tuesday. The report, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, outlines 35 priorities that the council will be championing in the state capital this year, including Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposal to increase city income taxes on wealthy New Yorkers to pay for universal prekindergarten and an expansion of after-school programs for middle-school students. Ms. Mark-Viverito is slated to join Mr. de Blasio on Tuesday for a day of lobbying in Albany, where the mayor’s proposal to raise income taxes on New Yorkers making $500,000 or more will take center stage. Ms. Mark-Viverito said in an interview Monday that the council plans to advocate for dozens of other issues, including the push for instant runoff voting.

North Dakota: State misses hearing in governor’s race lawsuit | Bismarck Tribune

Former North Dakota gubernatorial candidates went unrepresented in a court hearing Monday when Solicitor General Douglas Bahr failed to show up. Due to confusion over start times, Bahr missed a hearing in Morton County on a lawsuit filed by Paul Sorum over the result of 2012’s race for governor. Sorum, an independent candidate in the 2012 race, filed a lawsuit after his loss. Citing an error in paperwork, he requested the more than 300,000 votes for the Republican and Democrat candidates be thrown out and he be named governor. Gov. Jack Dalrymple was declared the winner with 64 percent of the vote. Democratic candidate Ryan Taylor received 35 percent. Sorum received 1.69 percent.

Ohio: State election law violates First Amendment, Dewine says | The Columbus Dispatch

In a highly unusual move, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine yesterday told the U.S. Supreme Court that the state’s election law banning candidates from making false statements with malice violates the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech. In legal papers filed with the justices, DeWine said the Ohio law has a “chilling” impact on the speech not only of candidates, but independent organizations wishing to advertise against a candidate. The attorney general contended that the law “polices not just ‘false’ speech, but speech that indisputably is protected under the First Amendment.” Normally, the state attorney general would defend a law approved by the legislature in his or her state. The justices are expected later this spring to hear two challenges — both from Cincinnati — to the Ohio law. They have been consolidated into one case.

Ohio: Proposed Voter Bill of Rights ballot item refiled | Cincinnati Enquirer

The group of African-American leaders pushing the inclusion of a Voters Bill of Rights in the Ohio Constitution has revised its amendment summary and submitted new signatures after Attorney General Mike DeWine rejected their initial attempt to get on the ballot. The Voters Bill of Rights would add items to the constitution that are controversial among some Republicans, such as preserving a 35-day early voting period, specifiying extended hours for early voting, allowing a voter to cast a provisional ballot anywhere in the correct county and moving toward online voter registration. Supporters say their effort is a reaction to several new laws that may make voting more difficult for some – in exchange for added security, fairness and efficiency, Republicans say.

Utah: State maintains caucus system, adds direct primary in compromise | KSL

The Utah House and Senate believe they have come up with a “win-win solution” to expand access to Utah’s primary elections. Amendments to Senate Bill 54 were officially announced in a press conference Sunday at the Utah State Capitol, with members of the Utah Legislature and the leadership behind the Count My Vote ballot initiative attending. In what was called “historic legislation,” by Count My Vote executive chairman Rick McKeown, the bill seeks to expand options to voters while retaining Utah’s caucus-convention system. The bill creates a direct primary election, opening the door for candidates to use caucus-conventions or signature gathering as a means of getting on the ballot and allowing an estimated 665,000 unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections.

Afghanistan: Presidential hopefuls campaign amid threats | PressTV

Afghan presidential candidates continue campaigning amid escalating security threats by the Taliban militant group, Press TV reports. The Taliban have rejected the April election and stepped up attacks to sabotage the electoral process. This comes after presidential candidates in Afghanistan began two months of campaigning for the April 5 election. The presidential hopefuls discuss issues at small rallies ranging from the Taliban to the future of foreign troops in Afghanistan. They also have outlined their working plans after being elected as the country’s new president.

Cambodia: Voter list overhaul eyed | Phnom Penh Post

More than five months after the Cambodian People’s Party and the Cambodia National Rescue Party first announced a joint commitment to electoral reform following a September 16 meeting, specific measures have finally been agreed upon. The first official meeting yesterday of a bipartisan committee tasked with discussing election reforms agreed on “the organisation of voter registration and a voter list to guarantee and defend the voting rights of all people”, and that a law on political party finance be created, a joint statement says. While the two sides have agreed in principle on the need for a revamped voter list, details of how that could be practically implemented will only be decided after a yet-to-be-scheduled national workshop with relevant stakeholders, opposition spokesman and committee member Yim Sovann said last night.

Editorials: Fair Elections Act would suppress the student vote | The Varsity

The federal Conservative government recently announced the Fair Elections Act, a controversial proposal to amend the Canada Elections Act. Ironically, the act is being criticized for taking steps to suppress voter turnout by implementing new rules for verifying who is an eligible voter at the polls. This new piece of legislation poses significant issues for minority voters, low-income families, and, unfortunately, students. At present, eligible voters can vouch for another person’s eligibility, such as a roommate or neighbour, at polling stations, allowing them to vote. The Conservatives’ proposal places unnecessarily stringent limits on reasonable and useful forms of identification, which will inevitably prevent young people from voting. One form of identification targeted for elemination is vouching. While the act will leave 39 identification options, these are often onerous or impossible for students or marginalized voters. Other identification options — including providing phone bills, bank statements, or ID — work for voters who have a well-established life in the riding. Students — who often live in a given riding for only one federal election, and marginalized citizens — who might not have a mailing address or ID — rely on vouching to facilitate their democratic right.

Libya: Head of election commission resigns | GulfNews.com

The head of Libya’s election commission and two of its members resigned on Sunday, state media reported, a day after it released initial results of a vote for the country’s constitutional panel amid violence and boycotts. Nuri Al Abari, the head of the commission, did not say why he resigned, although it appeared to be out of concern over Libya’s volatile political situation and tension over the election. Later in the day, armed protesters stormed the parliament building while lawmakers were in session, trashing furniture, burning the speaker’s chair and beating at least three lawmakers, deputy speaker Hussain Al Ansari said. The February vote for the 60-member constitutional panel was marred by violence, with several voting stations coming under attack and security forces failing to secure others.