Voting Blogs: Special elections continue to pile up: Some states and localities are looking for ways to decrease the numbers | electionlineWeekly

Mid-Tuesday afternoon while much of America was either enjoying St. Patrick’s Day, Twitter suddenly blew up with the news that Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock (R-18th District) announced his resignation. While the journalists and political gadfly’s on social media made light of the resignation or talked about its impact on politics, all electionline could think was of those poor elections administrators and volunteers in Illinois. Now some of those elections officials are going to have conduct a special election to replace Schock on top of previously planned spring elections and for some, on top of other special elections. “In a year when state revenues are almost certain to decrease, the increased cost of an unanticipated and unbudgeted election is particularly difficult,” Peoria County Administrator Lori Curtis Luther told the Peoria Journal Star. This will be the third special Congressional election in Illinois in the last years. For Peoria elections officials, the special election creates a whole different set of issues in addition to funding. Last year, voters approved a measure to create a countywide election commission, which was supposed to have almost a full year to get up and running before its first election, now they need to scramble. Last year, voters approved a measure to create a countywide election commission, which was supposed to have almost a full year to get up and running before its first election, now they need to scramble.

California: Voting at 16 in S.F.? Supervisor says the time has come | San Francisco Chronicle

Sixteen-year-olds can drive, work, pay taxes and be sentenced to life in prison. Now, some want the right to vote, too. On Tuesday, San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos will attempt to make that happen by introducing a measure that would extend the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds. Avalos and other supporters say it will encourage civic engagement among youths and instill in them lifelong voting habits at a time when turnout is low. Detractors call the measure foolhardy at best and at worst a political ploy by progressives to try and win more votes from young people, who tend to lean liberal in their voting. “I have seen the power of young people to be able to make changes and positive contributions to their community, and it makes sense to give them the right to vote,” Avalos said.

Nebraska: Winner-take-all bill blocked and likely done for the year | Lincoln Journal Star

The legislative proposal to return Nebraska to a winner-take-all presidential electoral vote system was trapped Tuesday by a successful filibuster and essentially blocked from further consideration this session. A motion to break the filibuster fell two senators short of acquiring the 33 votes required to break the filibuster, failing on a 31-18 vote. Four senators who are Republicans joined all 13 senators who are Democrats and Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, the sole registered independent, in voting against the cloture vote to end debate.

Editorials: Oregon’s Example for Voters Everywhere | Cass R. Sunstein/Bloomberg

This week, Oregon became the first state to adopt automatic voter registration. If you’re an Oregonian over 18, and if you’ve dealt with the state’s Driver and Motor Vehicles Division since 2013, you’ll get a notice in the mail letting you know you’re registered to vote. Then, unless you opt out within three weeks, you’ll automatically receive a ballot 20 days before every election. (Oregon has all-mail voting.) Almost immediately, 300,000 more voters — a big chunk of the estimated 800,000 state residents who are eligible but still unregistered — are likely to be signed up. It’s fitting that Oregon passed its law just after the 50th anniversary of the Selma, Alabama, voting rights march. Too often people assume that the U.S. has solved its voting-rights problem, and see Selma as no more than an occasion for pride and celebration. The truth is that voting rights remain a work in progress. Oregon’s new law points to a simple, inexpensive and promising way forward.

Editorials: The Supreme Court’s Identity Crisis on Voting Rights | Linda Greenhouse/New York Times

A thought experiment: Suppose the 50th anniversary of the march for voting rights in Selma, Ala. — Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge — had fallen on March 7, 2013 rather than the week before last. Eight days before my imaginary anniversary, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Shelby County v. Holder. Four months later, the 5-to-4 decision in that case cut the heart out of the very victory that the Selma marchers had sacrificed to achieve, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Would the court really have had the nerve to do it, with the memories of the march’s veterans still echoing for the world to hear and with President Obama making perhaps the best speech of his presidency? In the full glare of that public spotlight, would there really have been no member of the Shelby County majority who might have found his way (yes, the five were all men) to a different result?

Voting Blogs: Voting Laws Are Disabling The Disabled: Easy Nationwide Fixes To Re-Enfranchise Voters With Disabilities | State of Elections

Laws affecting voter participation are a current hot topic in the news. Voter identification, early voting, or redistricting laws are all working their way through the legal system almost certainly on their way to the Supreme Court (if they have not reached the high court already). There are mixed opinions on what these laws do. Supporters insist that the laws protect the integrity of elections by preventing voter fraud. Opponents vehemently argue that the laws are simply pretense for stopping poor and minority voters from exercising their rights at the polls. However, one group of minority voters, voters with disabilities, are severely impacted by election administration laws regarding the accessibility of elections. Their story has been largely ignored in the sound-byte thrusts and parries of the politicos and pundits.

Colorado: Overseas voting bill advances | The Pueblo Chieftain

A new state law that would extend to cities the absentee voter system currently in place for military overseas who want to vote in state and federal elections, passed committee on Wednesday. State Sen. Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, said the bill passed through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously and will go to the Senate floor next. There’s no fiscal impact to the state and Garcia said he isn’t sure when the Senate will take up the bill. Garcia said the bill will help extend some deadlines for municipal elections so ballots can be mailed to military personnel and state department employees overseas who want to participate in local elections.

Nevada: Voter ID proposal brings contentious debate | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Henderson Assemblyman Lynn Stewart says he has to show his driver’s license to get on an airplane, to withdraw cash at the bank or to make a purchase with a credit card. The same requirement should be in place when Nevadans exercise one of their most precious constitutional rights by voting, the Republican lawmaker said Tuesday in what became a contentious, two-hour debate over the need for such a measure. Stewart said it is just one more security measure to ensure that someone who casts a vote is who he says he is. Stewart and Assemblywoman Jill Dickman, R-Sparks, supported the measures, Assembly Bills 253 and 266, in a hearing before the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee. No action was taken on the measures. The bills would provide for a free voter ID card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles if an individual did not have the required identification. But the controversial issue showed the fundamental differences of opinion that individuals have on the issue. The hearing also got heated at times among members of the committee and with witnesses.

Guam: Voter registration bill to ‘modernize’ process | Pacific Daily News

After a full day of discussion yesterday, lawmakers placed one of three bills aimed at reforming Guam’s voter registration laws into the voting file. Freshman Sen. Mary Camacho Torres’ measure, Bill 23-33, proposes implementing a voter registration portal on the Guam Election Commission’s website, giving island residents another means to register. The Republican senator from Santa Rita said it’s important for Guam to keep up with evolving technology. “The bill is intended to modernize Guam’s voter registration, … this whole idea of modernizing is really the wave of today and tomorrow,” Torres said.  Torres stressed that if the bill is passed, the option for residents who want to register in person with a registrar will still exist.

Iowa: Senate OKs bill on online voter registration system | Associated Press

Legislation that would create an online voter registration system for Iowa residents passed the Senate Thursday, but it’s unclear whether it will advance in the House. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 26-20 Thursday along party lines for the bill. That tends to show what kind of support it might get in the Republican-led House. The legislation would allow people to register to vote online through the secretary of state’s website if they have an Iowa driver’s license number, a state-issued identification card number or a Social Security number. When a registration is completed online, officials at a county auditor’s office are expected to verify the information before mailing a voter card.

Kentucky: State’s Rand Paul caucus problem | The Hill

Trying to assist the presidential aspirations of Sen. Rand Paul, (R-Ky.), the Kentucky GOP has taken a bold move. Under current law, Paul could not run for both reelection and the Republican presidential nomination. In order to create a work-around to this problem, the state party has made a one-time only move from a primary to a caucus system. This innovative approach is troubling on a number of levels, but the biggest one is clearly that the state GOP would be promoting the confusing and relatively undemocratic caucus system. Paul isn’t the first candidate to face this particular problem. Numerous states ban candidates from seeking two offices at once. In 1960, Texas changed its law to help Lyndon Johnson (D) run for both the Senate and the presidency at one time, a change that helped Lloyd Bentsen (D) when he ran for the VP position in 1988. There have been other recent attempts to change these laws, including in Indiana for Gov. Mike Pence (R) and even in Arkansas for newly elected Sen. Tom Cotton (R). Some states have no barriers to seeking two offices at once, and candidates have taken advantage of these rules on the VP level – notably Joe Lieberman (D) in 2000 in Connecticut, and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in 2012. Both lost their races, as did Bentsen, but kept their seats in Congress.

Massachusetts: State partially settles lawsuit over voter registration for welfare recipients | MassLive

The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance has settled a 2012 lawsuit with voting rights organizations by agreeing to distribute voter registration forms to people applying for public assistance, to help people complete the forms and to provide oversight to ensure that public assistance workers abide by the requirements of a federal voting rights law. The Department of Transitional Assistance will also pay $675,000 in attorneys’ fees to the voting rights organizations. “We hope that this will make a huge improvement in the voting and registration opportunities for low-income Massachusetts citizens,” said Catherine Flanagan, senior election counsel for the Washington D.C.-based Project Vote and one of the lawyers trying the case. “The administration is pleased this matter was settled appropriately,” said Elizabeth Guyton, press secretary for Gov. Charlie Baker.

Minnesota: Time running out on felon voting bill | Minnesota Public Radio

A coalition of groups working to restore the voting rights of convicted felons is growing concerned about the prospect of passing a bill this session. Legislation allowing felons to vote once they’re out of jail, rather than waiting until they’re off probation, is poised for a floor vote in the Minnesota Senate. But it does not yet have a scheduled hearing in the House. The committee deadline is Friday. During a news conference Wednesday, Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference said the bill enjoys broad bipartisan support.

Oregon: Kate Brown has gone on the offensive in the voting wars | Slate

For more than a decade, voting rights advocates have been on the defensive. They’ve resisted one effort after another to restrict access to the polls, efforts that got new life following the Florida election fiasco of 2000, when a large black turnout almost (or maybe did) put Al Gore over the top in the Sunshine State, and that reached full force following Barack Obama’s election in 2008. Between the 2010 and 2012 elections alone, governors signed into law 23 bills that imposed constraints on voting, including requiring photo ID at the polls and curtailing same-day registration and early voting. While there have been defensive victories here and there, the resistance has been futile in many states and not helped by the Supreme Court, which in 2008 ruled in favor of voter ID laws and in 2013 gutted key elements of the Voting Rights Act. But now, at least in one state, the voting rights camp is on the offensive, and it’s hard to overstate what a pivotal turn that represents in the nation’s long-running voting wars. Oregon’s new governor, Kate Brown, the former secretary of state who took over following the resignation of her fellow Democrat John Kitzhaber, has made headlines for being the nation’s first openly bisexual governor, but the bill she signed Monday is far more significant.

Tennessee: Atheists want law removed that bars them from office | The Tennessean

Sarah Green remembers feeling like she didn’t belong in her own state after discovering that Tennessee’s constitution bars people who don’t believe in God from holding public office. “It was one of the things that made me realize how unwelcome it could be for an atheist, especially in the South,” Green said. “It pretty much informed my decision to stay closeted, if you will, for almost 15 years.” The 30-year-old Hermitage woman came out as an atheist almost a year ago and is adding her voice to a national push to take provisions that discriminate against the nonreligious off the books. The effort is spearheaded by Openly Secular, which issued a report late last year finding that eight states, including Tennessee, had similar language in their constitutions.

Washington: Yakima County begins plans for redistricting despite city’s ongoing legal fight | Yakima Herald Republic

The city of Yakima hasn’t thrown in the towel yet on its legal fight with the ACLU, but county elections officials said Wednesday they are moving ahead with implementation of a court-ordered redistricting plan for the city. Yakima County Auditor Charles Ross said the decision was made Wednesday after consulting with the county’s attorneys. Ross, whose office oversees municipal and county elections, said updating the information in the county’s voter registration system would take about three days and will likely begin next week. “Our position is we’re going to implement the judge’s order,” Ross said.

Australia: Legal action considered over online voting glitch | Northern Star

Minor parties are threatening legal action after being omitted from the “above-the-line” section of the electronic ballot for the New South Wales election. About 19,000 votes were received before the NSW Electoral Commission realised the Animal Justice Party and the Outdoor Recreation Party had been left off the top section. In a preferential system, it is a major concern. Voters who do not wish to number their preferences can take the easy option and just write “1” next to the party they favour – above the line.

Nigeria: Why won’t Nigeria let foreign journalists cover its elections? | The Telegraph

I was looking forward to being in Nigeria this weekend, writing a preview for the presidential elections at the end of the month. Not the way every Telegraph reader might want to spend their weekend, I grant you, but by foreign correspondents’ standards, it’s a Premier League fixture. The contest will decide who rules West Africa’s most important country, and in the wake of last year’s kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram, the wider world will be following it in a way they never used to. Sadly, if it’s on-the-ground reportage you want, don’t come to me. Or The Times or Channel 4 News. Or any of the 20-odd other British media outlets that have asked for press visas to cover the elections, and whose applications still languish in a pile at the Nigerian High Commission in London. (Fee £300, non-returnable.)

Ukraine: Russia offers UN resolution on election talks with Ukraine rebels | AFP

Russia proposed a UN Security Council draft resolution Thursday asking Kiev to “immediately start consultations” with pro-Russian separatists on elections within their eastern Ukraine strongholds. The Russian text cites a paragraph from a February peace accord, which “provides for discussion and agreement on questions related to local elections in certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.”

Australia: New South Wales online ballot error ‘disadvantaged’ parties, court action flagged | ABC

A political party accidentally left off online versions of ballot papers has indicated it could take court action after the New South Wales election. The iVote online voting system was suspended for much of yesterday after the NSW Electoral Commission was alerted to the error by the Outdoor Recreation Party’s Peter Whelan. The system is available to voters who are vision impaired, have reading difficulties, live more than 20 kilometres from a polling station or will be out of the state on election day. Mr Whelan said he was shocked when he logged on to the website yesterday. Despite his party having drawn a sought-after Group B “above the line” position on the Upper House ballot paper, it did not appear there on the electronic version. The Animal Justice party, which drew Group C on the ballot, was also omitted.

Guinea: Opposition boycotts parliament in election row | AFP

Guinea’s opposition withdrew its lawmakers from parliament Wednesday and said it would no longer recognise the election commission in protest over the timetable for presidential elections. The vote is due to be held in the Ebola-hit nation on October 11, the commission said last week, following doubts over its timing. “We decided yesterday… to suspend our participation in the work of the National Assembly and withdraw our 49 lawmakers until further notice and no longer recognise the national independent election commission,” said opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo. The opposition has accused President Alpha Conde of using the Ebola epidemic as an excuse to postpone elections and of refusing to enter into a dialogue over the timetable. More than 10,000 people have died of Ebola, almost all in west Africa, since it emerged in Guinea in December 2013.

National: Would Automatic Voter Registration Increase Turnout? | NPR

Go to renew your driver’s license in Oregon, and you will now be signed up to vote automatically. It’s the first state in the country with that sort of law, which is designed to make voting easier, and stands in contrast to the trend seen in the past several years in more conservative states. “It’s really interesting — when we’ve seen restrictions emerging in Republican-leaning states,” said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida associate who tracks turnout as head of the U.S. Elections Project. “In Democratic-controlled states, we’re seeing laws intended to expand the electorate.” Colorado, for example, like Oregon is all vote-by-mail; Vermont is considering automatic registration, McDonald said, and a Philadelphia politician on Tuesday proposed the same for Pennsylvania. New York and Maryland, meanwhile, have expanded early voting.

National: Mandatory Voting? Obama Says It Would Be ‘Transformative’ | Associated Press

They say the only two things that are certain in life are death and taxes. President Barack Obama wants to add one more: voting. Obama floated the idea of mandatory voting in the U.S. while speaking to a civic group in Cleveland on Wednesday. Asked about the corrosive influence of money in U.S. elections, Obama digressed into the related topic of voting rights and said the U.S. should be making it easier — not harder— for people to vote. Just ask Australia, where citizens have no choice but to vote, the president said. “If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country,” Obama said, calling it potentially transformative. Not only that, Obama said, but universal voting would “counteract money more than anything.”

National: Lawmakers introduce bill to restore voting rights to ex-convicts | Al Jazeera

Lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would restore voting rights in federal elections to nearly 4.4 million U.S. citizens with criminal convictions after their release from prison. The Democracy Restoration Act was introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. Similar versions of the bill have been introduced in past congressional sessions. “Millions of American citizens are without a political voice in federal elections because the current patchwork of laws that disfranchise people with criminal records has created an inconsistent and unfair electoral process,” Deborah J. Vagins, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a press release issued Wednesday. She urged Congress to pass the bill, arguing that many criminal disfranchisement laws stemmed from the Jim Crow era, with the intent of keeping African-Americans from voting.

Editorials: Repair the Voting Rights Act | The Washington Post

The 50TH anniversary commemorations of the “Bloody Sunday” march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., have come and gone. But one of the principal achievements of the brave marchers still remains compromised. Congress needs to fix the Voting Rights Act, a fact that can’t be ignored now that the politicians have left Selma. The Voting Rights Act subjected a handful of states with notorious records of voting discrimination to “preclearance,” meaning state and local officials had to submit proposed changes in electoral procedures to the Justice Department before implementing them. The results of preclearance and the other provisions of the act were dramatic.

California: Fullerton’s at-large voting system shuts out Asian Americans, suit says | Los Angeles Times

Two civil rights groups sued the city of Fullerton on Wednesday, saying the college town’s at-large voting system shuts out Asian Americans. In their lawsuit, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Asian Americans Advancing Justice — L.A. allege Fullerton’s system for electing council members violates the California Voting Rights Act and blocks large segments of the community — especially Asian Americans — from having a voice in city government. “Almost one in four eligible voters in Fullerton is Asian American, yet despite their sizable numbers, no Asian American currently serves on the City Council,” said Deanna Kitamura, senior staff attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice — L.A.

Florida: Senate Committee Approves Online Voter Registration | CBS Miami

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee approved legislation Tuesday that would allow Florida voters to register online–but only after the looming 2016 presidential election. The bill (SB 228) would allow Floridians with driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards to submit applications online, using signatures on file with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, as long as the voter’s name and date of birth matched the agency’s records. Otherwise, the system would fill out a form that could be printed and taken to the office of the local supervisor of elections.

Illinois: Election to replace Aaron Schock could be first test for new countywide election commission | Peoria Journal Star

A yet-to-be-formed countywide election commission, approved by voters last fall, was supposed to have nearly a year before its first election. Not anymore. When Aaron Schock announced he was resigning from his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, that triggered a 120-day window for an election to replace the four-term Peoria Republican. And the first election, a primary, will likely occur earlier. Gov. Bruce Rauner must set a date for the elections within five days of Schock’s resignation, which is effective March 31. And it means Peoria County, already facing a possible budget shortfall next year, has to come up with about $150,000 to pay for the special elections.

Illinois: Company protesting contract awarded by DuPage election agency | Daily Herald

A San Diego-based company wants the DuPage County Election Commission to rebid a contract for electronic poll books after claiming the agency didn’t give it a fair opportunity to compete for the work. Votec Corp. filed a protest with the county’s procurement office after the election commission decided in November to award Hart InterCivic a nearly $500,000 contract to supply the commission with computerized logs to check in voters at the polls. In its protest, Votec claims the election commission “violated and/or failed to adhere to” its procurement ordinance. “They (Votec) feel that the process was not a truly full and open competition,” said Jim Rome, an attorney representing the company.

Maine: Republican senator renews fight for voter ID | Bangor Daily News

The sponsor of a bill to require voters to show photographic identification before receiving their ballots said he will continue to solicit support for his bill despite a 7-5 committee vote against it Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Ron Collins, R-Wells, said he sponsored LD 197 because of “finger pointing and accusations” he saw going around during a recount last year in the Senate District 25 election in the Falmouth area. “It kind of hurt the integrity of the voting process in Maine,” said Collins. “It really bothered me. … To maintain the integrity of the voting process, showing a personal identification is not a big burden.”