Yearly Archives: 2014

Howard Jackson has been fired after eight months as director of the Richland County Elections & Voter Registration Office. Jackson, 43, was dismissed Monday on a 4-1 vote by the election board, with member Adell Adams the only “no” vote. His last day in the office will be Feb. 28. “Things were not going right,” board member Samuel Selph said in confirming the board’s decision. Jackson, who was hired at an annual salary of $78,000, said he would be holding a news conference Tuesday to discuss the turn of events as well as recent elections. He was brought in by the board after the election disaster of November 2012, when too few machines were deployed and voters waited in long lines, some for as long as seven hours, to cast ballots. Then-director Lillian McBride, who oversaw that election, was demoted to another position.

Ohio: Cuyahoga County considering legal action against election bills, FitzGerald says | The Columbus Dispatch

Gov. John Kasich signed two GOP-sponsored bills today that shorten early voting in Ohio and change the process for mailing absentee ballot applications statewide, potentially inviting a legal challenge from his likely Democratic opponent. Kasich put his name on Senate Bill 238 — which eliminates “Golden Week,” when Ohioans could register and vote on the same day — and Senate Bill 205, which requires the approval of the legislature for the secretary of state to mail absentee applications statewide. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald, who also serves as the elected Cuyahoga County executive, said he has asked his county law director to review the two bills and is considering taking legal action. “We’ve done that before,” FitzGerald said. “We are the only county in Ohio that when they tried to change the election rules at the last minute in 2012, of course there was a lawsuit over that, there was only one county in Ohio that filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief.

Oregon: Secretary of state to ask lawmakers for cash to fix hacked website | Associated Press

Secretary of State Kate Brown has informed the Oregon Legislature that she’ll be asking for money to hire a security contractor to fix her website, which was taken offline after hackers broke in. Brown’s office hired a contractor to review security upgrades and another to help manage communication with website users, said Tony Green, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office. Brown’s office has cut off access to the state’s business registry and campaign finance records since the hacking was discovered Feb. 4. Officials have said little about what information was compromised or when the website will work, but they insist personal information is safe. The hackers did not get access to the state’s central voter registration database, officials say. Green declined again Friday to say when the website might return or whether the public can be assured of having access to campaign finance information before the primary in May or local elections next month. The office has suspended fines for businesses that are late in paying annual fees.

Texas: State officials investigating Democratic activists | Associated Press

The Texas Secretary of State referred three complaints against Democratic group Battleground Texas for possible prosecution as violations of a state election law on Friday. Battleground Texas issued a statement, saying it has done nothing wrong and that the complaints and referrals were partisan attempts to slow the group. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office, which would normally investigate further, recused itself and forwarded the complaints in a letter to Susan Reed, the district attorney in Bexar County, where one of the violations allegedly took place. Abbott is running for governor against Democrat Wendy Davis, whom Battleground Texas is assisting by registering voters, building a supporter database and ultimately mobilizing those voters for the Nov. 4 general election.

Utah: Romney backs effort to end nominating conventions in Utah | Washington Post

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is lending his support to an initiative that would change the way Utah political parties choose their candidates. In an e-mail to former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), Romney said he supports Count My Vote, an initiative that would require party nominees to be chosen in primaries rather than through a convention system. “I want to tell you that Ann and I are supporters. Since the election, I’ve been pushing hard for states to move to direct primaries,” Romney wrote in an e-mail first reported by the Salt Lake Tribune. “Caucus/convention systems exclude so many people: they rarely produce a result that reflects how rank-and-file Republicans feel. I think that’s true for Democrats, too.” Romney said the Count My Vote initiative could “count on us to help financially.”

Canada: New elections act could pull plug on federal online voting experiments | Edmonton Journal

A provision in the Conservative government’s new elections act will limit the ability of Elections Canada to experiment with online voting — a limit the Opposition argues will suppress the votes of young people who are less likely to vote Tory than older demographics. “The only reason for this has to be singling out a reform that the Conservatives have particular problems with,” NDP Democratic Reform Critic Craig Scott said. “E-voting is something they know appeals to younger generations, which is not necessarily their voting cohort.”

Colombia: President names Vargas Lleras as running mate | Reuters

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday named German Vargas Lleras as his vice presidential running mate, a popular choice that will likely boost his chances of winning a second straight term in office later this year. Vargas Lleras, a former Santos cabinet minister and senator, will campaign for election in May and promise to help bolster economic growth and steer peace talks with Marxist FARC rebels to end Colombia’s half-century war. Santos is the front-runner by far to win the election in a second round of voting in June, but having the popular Vargas Lleras as running mate raises his chances of clinching a first-round win.

South Africa: Electoral Body to Begin Preparation for Election | VoA News

South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) plans to close its voter registration list after President Jacob Zuma officially publishes the May 7 general election date in the government’s gazette on Tuesday. “President Jacob Zuma will be proclaiming the election date that means the election date would be published in the government gazette. Our offices will be opened across the country from 8 O’clock until five in the evening,” said Kate Bapela, IEC spokesperson. “At 12 midnight, the voters’ role for the 2014 national and provincial elections closes [and] that means that anyone who registers after midnight today will never be able to participate in the upcoming election,” she said.

Thailand: Election body frees some state funds to pay rice farmers | The Star

Thailand’s Election Commission gave the government approval on Tuesday to use a small sum from the central budget, 712 million baht ($22 million), to pay rice farmers who have been waiting months for payment from a state buying programme. The money will go a little way towards appeasing farmers protesting in Bangkok and their home provinces, but it is only a fraction of the 130 billion baht the government is estimated to owe nearly a million growers. “The Election Commission has approved a 712 million baht fund to help farmers, as requested by the government,” Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, an election official, said in a message posted on his Facebook page. The government is now looking for additional funds.

Ukraine: Ukraine’s Leader Flees the Capital; Elections Are Called | New York Times

Abandoned by his own guards and reviled across the Ukrainian capital but still determined to recover his shredded authority, President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday to denounce what he called a violent coup, as his official residence, his vast, colonnaded office complex and other once impregnable centers of power fell without a fight to throngs of joyous citizens stunned by their triumph. While Mr. Yanukovych’s nemesis, former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, was released from a penitentiary hospital, Parliament found the president unable to fulfill his duties and exercised its constitutional powers to set an election for May 25 to select his replacement. But with both Mr. Yanukovych and his Russian patrons speaking of a “coup” carried out by “bandits” and “hooligans,” it was far from clear that the day’s lightning-quick events would be the last act in a struggle that has not just convulsed Ukraine but expanded into an East-West confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War.

National: Once-Obscure State Job Is Now Attracting Millions Of Campaign Dollars | NPR

Iowa was one of the few states that saw voter turnout increase in 2012. Brad Anderson is proud of the role he played in encouraging turnout there as state director of President Obama’s campaign. Now he’s running for secretary of state, which would put him in charge of overseeing elections. “I have a plan to make Iowa No. 1 in voter turnout,” Anderson says. The fact that a former Obama operative wants to run elections makes some people nervous. But he’s part of a trend of overtly partisan figures running for a job designed to be neutral when it comes to election administration. No fewer than three superPACs have been formed in recent weeks — two on the left, one on the right — with plans to spend millions of dollars this year influencing elections for what used to be a low-profile post in most states.

Voting Blogs: Dude! Where’s my ballot? Democracy Works pilots new ballot-tracking program | electionlineWeekly

Even in this day and age where just about everything is done online, elections officials nationwide are still tied to their telephones. In the days leading up to an election, elections offices can field hundreds of phone calls each day as anxious voters want to check on the status of their mail ballot. Not only can and does this put a strain on understaffed and overworked elections offices, it can put a strain on voters who get busy signals or are put on hold. Democracy Works — which most of you may recognize as the nonprofit parent organization for TurboVote — is working on a pilot project that will help alleviate some of this pressure on both the elections officials and the voters. “From the beginning of TurboVote, we knew that to improve elections for everyone, we needed to work with the people who actually run them,” said Kathryn Peters, co-founder of TurboVote. So Democracy Works partnered with Reboot, a service-design consultancy to shadow election administration in six offices in Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, Florida, and Vermont in 2013.

Voting Blogs: Super PACs and the Confusion of Regulatory Objectives | More Soft Money Hard Law

In the discussion of Super PACs, seemingly different concerns tend to intermingle or become fused together, creating confusion. Most obvious is the continuing disagreement about whether candidate support for an independent committee, particularly fundraising, results in “coordination.” Some argue—some propose an amendment to the law to provide—that a candidate’s public endorsement of a committee, including but not limited to appeals for funds, is coordination. Another view distinguishes among Super PACs and would subject single-candidate committees to stricter coordination than others. The issue might be easier to follow if it were made clear that there are two regulatory objectives, close in nature but not the same, running through the arguments about the impact of candidate fundraising for an independent committee. One goal is to keep officeholders and candidates from soliciting “soft money”—money in unlimited sums and without restriction in source—and, in consequence, placed in a position rife with the potential for corruption. The other is to determine whether a Super PAC, as a result of coordination with a candidate, is limited in its spending. The “coordinated” spending is, of course, a contribution and must comply with dollar limits. Not so the spending that remains an “independent expenditure.”

Arizona: Court dismisses challenge to Arizona congressional maps | Arizona Daily Star

Arizona voters have a constitutional right to wrest control of drawing congressional boundaries from the Legislature, a federal court ruled late Friday. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow acknowledged the arguments by Peter Gentala, an attorney for the Republican-controlled Legislature, that the U.S. Constitution spells out that the “times, places and manner” of electing members of Congress “shall be prescribed in each state by the Legislature thereof.” But Snow, writing for the majority of the three-judge panel, said he reads nothing in the Constitution that precludes the voters, as the ultimate lawmakers, from deciding that legislative chore and instead giving it to the Independent Redistricting Commission, which is what they did in 2000. That makes the lines the commission drew for the state’s nine congressional districts legal and enforceable, he said.

Editorials: Four things the District of Columbia can try to send election turnout through the roof | Norman Ornstein/Washington Post

Voter turnout in the District is generally abysmal. With rare exceptions — a presidential election with an African American at the head of the ticket, for example — turnout in the city falls at the lower end of a national spectrum that is pretty poor to begin with. In some ways this is no surprise; for those of us living in the District, voting can be a drag. First, we have no voting representation in Congress. Second, the general elections are almost always pro forma; the District is so overwhelmingly Democratic that the only contest that matters is the Democratic primary. Those issues aren’t likely to change anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean turnout has to remain at such low levels. The District is ripe for a dramatic experiment that could show how changing the rules and processes could significantly increase voter participation. Unlike North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, where lawmakers have tried multiple ways to suppress votes to maintain partisan political advantage, the climate here isn’t hostile to voters. Rather, there is every reason for political figures, election officials and citizens to work together to create a healthier democracy. This creates a great opportunity to use the District as a laboratory for cutting-edge ideas.

Kentucky: Rand Paul backs House version of felon voting bill | The Courier-Journal

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said Friday that he prefers a Kentucky constitutional amendment that would restore the voting rights of convicted felons without strings attached, rather than one backed by Senate Republicans that puts numerous restrictions them. “The bill in the House, which I support, would let you, once you served your time for a nonviolent felony, would let you get your voting rights back. I support that,” Paul, R-Ky., said while attending a Jefferson County Republican Party fundraising event that was focused on broadening the party’s appeal. But Paul said he still hopes some agreement between the House and Senate is in the offing, and that a bill can be passed by the end of the 2014 session of the General Assembly.

Editorials: Senate made mockery of Kentucky voting rights amendment | Lexington Herald Leader

Imagine if two-thirds of people living in Lexington just disappeared. Their houses sat empty, their jobs unfilled and taxes unpaid. When it comes to our country’s most basic democratic right — voting — that is what’s happening today. Nearly 200,000 Kentuckians living and working in our communities cannot vote because of antiquated laws excluding them from our democracy. When someone is convicted of a felony, they can never vote again unless the governor individually allows them to do so. It does not matter how long ago the crime was, how old the person was when he did it or how long he has been living productively among friends and neighbors. This year, the legislature, and every citizen, had a chance to change that, but it looks as if the Kentucky Senate is squandering that opportunity. The legislature is considering House Bill 70, which would allow voters to decide on a constitutional amendment that would automatically restore voting rights for people with criminal convictions who have fully completed their sentences.

North Carolina: Judge delays ruling on voting law | Winston-Salem Journal

A federal judge this afternoon held off on ruling whether 13 North Carolina state legislators should comply with subpoenas requesting documents in connection with a trio of lawsuits challenging a voting law passed last year. Magistrate Judge Joi Elizabeth Peak also told parties in the suit to develop a plan to produce electronic documents from the state, and told defense attorneys to produce documents related to how the law is being implemented. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with a group of plaintiffs that include the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters, is contesting the Voter Identification Verification Act (VIVA).

Ohio: Kasich signs both elections bills; ‘livid’ FitzGerald may take action | The Columbus Dispatch

With Gov. John Kasich’s signature now on two Republican-sponsored bills that reduce early voting, eyes turn toward his likely Democratic challenger to see if he follows through on a threat to challenge the new laws in court. Yesterday, Kasich signed Senate Bill 238, which eliminates “Golden Week” — when Ohioans could register and vote on the same day — and shortens early voting by a week. He also signed Senate Bill 205, which makes legislative approval a requirement before the secretary of state can mail out absentee-ballot applications statewide. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald, who also is the elected Cuyahoga County executive, said he has asked his county law director to review the two new laws for possible legal action. “We’ve done that before,” said FitzGerald, who emailed supporters after Kasich signed the bills to say he was “livid.”

Ohio: Husted: BOE can move, but locals choose early voting site | Cincinnati.com

Hamilton County leaders can move elections operations to Mount Airy, but the issue about where to put early voting remains unsettled in the wake of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s tie-breaking vote on the matter. The decisions have national implications. Ohio – and Hamilton County in particular – are key battlegrounds in presidential elections, and how elections are conducted here can affect whose votes get counted. In the 2012 presidential election, more than 24,000 people voted early, in-person, at the Downtown location. “They need to find a place everyone can live with,” Husted told the Enquirer. “I’m not trying to tell anyone in Hamilton County where their early voting should be.” Husted added: “Honestly, the current location is not the best location.”

Australia: Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn resigns after bungled WA Senate vote | Sydney Morning Herald

The head of the Australian Electoral Commission, Ed Killesteyn, and his most senior colleague in Western Australia have quit in the wake of the state’s bungled Senate election. Special Minister of State Michael Ronaldson announced on Friday that Mr Killesteyn had formally tendered his resignation to Governor-General Quentin Bryce. The High Court this week declared last September’s West Australian Senate result void – paving the way for a fresh election in the state – after more than 1300 ballot papers went missing during the counting process. Mr Killesteyn is currently on personal leave and will remain on leave until his resignation takes effect on July 4. Deputy electoral commissioner Tom Rogers will act as commissioner. ”Events in Western Australia mean that the Australian Electoral Commission must regain the confidence of the community,” Senator Ronaldson said in a statement. ”The government will in due course announce a new electoral commissioner who will be charged with the restoration of that confidence.”

Fiji: 85% eligible voters are registered: Fiji Electoral Commission chairman | Islands Business

Approximately 85% of eligible voters are registered, which is an extremely impressive figure and represents the largest number of registered voters in Fiji’s history, says Electoral Commission chairman Chen Bunn Young. And the Elections Office is focusing on providing as many locations as possible around the country where Fijians can register to vote. Young said the Commission is determined to pick up the pace of opening registration centres in convenient locations across Fiji.

Iraq: Iraq begins handing out elections ID cards in Baghdad as unrest rages on across country | Associated Press

Iraqi election officials began handing out new, computerized voter identification cards Saturday across the capital as the country prepares for its first nationwide election since the withdrawal of U.S. troops. But the more than $100 million push to modernize voting comes as officials can’t distribute cards in embattled Anbar province, where al-Qaida fighters seized control of parts of two cities, and as militant attacks rage on unabated, killing at least 14 people alone Saturday and wounding nearly two dozen. The new voter cards, which include a computer chip, will allow election officials to check a voter’s identity and try to halt fraud. Several Iraqi political blocs alleged that some people voted multiple times in the last vote in 2010, although the results of the election were not widely disputed.

Thailand: Election Commission rejects ‘impossible’ re-run demand | Bangkok Post

Pheu Thai, Chartthaipattana, Chart Pattana and Phalang Chon parties stepped up calls on Friday for the EC to wrap up the incomplete election process, warning that the country faces the threat of huge economic damage in the absence of a government. But election commissioner Somchai Srisuttiyakon yesterday dismissed the request, saying the EC was required to act within the law. He was speaking at a meeting of chairmen and directors of provincial election committees to discuss preparations for the Senate election on March 30 and the poll re-runs. Mr Somchai, who is in charge of election management, said it was impossible to hold a fresh election in the 28 southern constituencies which had no registered candidates as the caretaker government and the EC still could not reach a clear conclusion on how to proceed.

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly February 17-23 2014

February 23, 2014

holt_260 Four years after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the supposed barrier between candidates and unrestricted super PACs is flimsier than ever. Voting rights advocates are concerned that efforts to stop strict voter ID laws could provide the conservatives on the Roberts Court the opportunity to strike down or significantly narrow Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The Kentucky State Senate passed a constitutional amendment intended to restore voting rights for some ex-felons after making significant changes to the version passed in the House. Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ), who has advocated measures to increase the transparency and security of voting technology, has announced that he will not run for re-election this November. A federal judge tried Friday to speed up the flow of documents in three lawsuits challenging North Carolina’s voter ID and elections overhaul law. In a party-line vote, the Republican controlled Ohio House passed two bills that make changes to the mailing of absentee ballot applications and cut six days from Ohio’s 35-day early, in-person voting period. A court has voided a Senate election in Western Australia, marred by the loss of 1375 ballots during a recount, forcing a re-vote and voters in Libya braved polling place bombings to vote on a new constitution.

National: Bill mandates no-excuse absentee ballots in federal elections | NBC

Voting-rights activists are hoping the hype around this year’s midterm elections will give new energy to a bill intended to make it easier to vote. The bill would mandate no-excuse absentee voting in federal elections, a provision currently allowed for voters in 30 states. Twenty others only allow absentee ballots to be cast if certain excuses are offered. “We think this is fundamentally unfair and invasive to people’s privacy,” says Deborah Vagins, senior counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Arizona: Senate repeals 2013 election law | Associated Press

The Arizona Senate has voted to repeal a sweeping 2013 Arizona election law that included trimming the state’s permanent early voting list and a host of other provisions that incensed voter-rights advocates. Majority Republicans who pushed House Bill 2305 through last June voted Thursday to repeal the law 17-12. The House passed an identical bill last week. The bill will now go to the governor. Republicans pushing the repeal say they are following the will of the voters and expressed worry that the many provisions in the bill could not be changed without a supermajority vote of the Legislature if it is repealed by voters. Democrats worry the provisions will be re-enacted. Repealing the law will cancel the voter referendum.

California: Padilla, Yee looking at 3rd party ballot access issues | CalNewsroom

Two Democrat state Senators, who are running for Secretary of State on the promise of free and fair elections, are looking into the new ballot qualification rules that are keeping third parties off the June ballot. Under new election rules established with the state’s Top Two primary, it would take the Green Party of California more than 16 years to raise enough money to pay the filing fee for all of its candidates in the June primary.

Connecticut: Malloy to unveil new online voter registration feature | Monroe Courier

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to officially unveil Connecticut’s new online voter registration system. The link to the new voter registration feature can easily be reached online at ct.gov and will be featured on every Connecticut state agency website. Connecticut now becomes the 15th U.S. state to provide the complete ability to register to vote online. The new online voter registration feature will be available to eligible Connecticut voters – residents of the state who are both American citizens aged 18 and older – who hold a valid Connecticut driver’s license or other ID issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The system is designed to have the voter enter their personal information for voter registration online, information which then populates a form that is sent via email to the registrar of voters where the new voter or voter changing address wants to register. The registrar of voters must then check the entered information and verify that it is accurate before adding the new voter to the Connecticut Voter Registration System statewide database. Secretary Merrill’s office worked with the Connecticut DMV to implement a new law requiring online voter registration that was enacted in 2012. Under the law, a new voter registering online agrees to add their electronic signature – already on file with the DMV – to the voter registration form online. With the electronic signature, the new voter attests online that all of the information contained in the voter registration form is true and accurate. In addition to new registrations, voters can also change their current registration online.

Editorials: GOP Senate makes farce of Kentucky voting rights amendment | Lexington Herald-Leader