Montana: New campaign finance law praised, but some say it needs to be toughened | Montana Standard

National authorities are praising Montana’s new campaign finance law as a vast improvement over the state’s former law, but they say it still needs toughening up to end anonymous “dark money” spent by groups known as incidental committees. Campaign finance law experts at the Campaign Legal Center and National Institute on Montana in State Politics each were pleased that Montana passed the stronger law. Both expressed concern that it doesn’t require incidental committees to report their donors.

North Carolina: Suit threatened over voting access; DHHS, Elections Board say they’ll investigate | News & Observer

Four national and state voting-rights organizations are threatening to sue North Carolina for what they contend are Gov. Pat McCrory administration’s violations of a federal law that requires the state to help poor people register to vote. The coalition gave written notice to the State Board of Elections and the state Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, triggering a 90-day period for the state agencies to comply with the law or face a lawsuit.

South Dakota: Federal judge refuses to dismiss Jackson County voting rights case involving tribal members | Associated Press

A voting rights lawsuit filed last year by four Oglala Sioux tribal members against Jackson County will be allowed to proceed following a ruling by a federal judge. County officials had asked U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier to dismiss the lawsuit, but she has denied the motion. Schreier determined the tribal members have provided enough information to support their allegations.

Washington: Bill intended to help minorities in elections | Spokesman-Review

A proposal to allow Washington cities to rearrange voting districts so minorities could have a greater voice in elections was praised Thursday as a way to avoid costly federal lawsuits; it also was denounced as a Trojan horse for more litigation. The proposed state Voting Rights Act passed the House on a partisan vote during the regular session but stalled in the Senate despite bipartisan support. It got an airing in a joint Senate committee work session Thursday though it’s unlikely to be revived for the special session, which is concentrating on budgets.

Burundi: Opposition leader to run for presidency; protests pause | CNBC Africa

Burundi’s leading opposition figure on Saturday registered to run in a coming presidential election against Pierre Nkurunziza, whose quest for a third term has sparked two weeks of protests. Nineteen people have died in the demonstrations against Nkurunziza’s bid for another term, which opponents say violates the constitution and a peace deal that ended an ethnically-charged civil war in 2005. “I presented my candidacy to respect Burundi’s constitution and the country’s electoral law,” Agathon Rwasa, who like Nkurunziza led a Hutu militia in the war, told reporters.

Guyana: Guyana goes to the polls in hotly contested national elections | Miami Herald

For decades, the two main political parties in this English-speaking South American outpost have been divided along racial lines with one drawing its well-spring of support from African descendants and the other from the country’s East Indian population. But changing demographics and the emergence of a multiracial third party have turned Monday’s election for president and parliament into one of the most closely watched since this former British colony transitioned from socialism to democracy 23 years go.

Poland: Opposition Candidate Wins First Round of Poland Presidential Elections | Wall Street Journal

A conservative opposition candidate won the first round of voting in Poland’s presidential election, a victory that could herald a change of guard in the European Union’s largest emerging economy. A contentious battle for the country’s presidency is likely in two weeks if the final tally, expected Tuesday, confirms no candidate won more than 50% of the vote. Andrzej Duda, supported by the main opposition party in Poland, the conservative Law and Justice, won 34.8% on Sunday. President Bronislaw Komorowski, supported by the center-right camp that has ruled Poland for nearly eight years, won 32.2% of the vote, according to pollster Ipsos for broadcasters TVP and TVN. A surprise third-strongest candidate, former rock star Pawel Kukiz, won 20.3%, according to the exit poll.

United Kingdom: Left-wing and right-wing parties unite in call for a fairer voting system | The Independent

Parties from across Britain’s political spectrum have called for reform of Britain’s electoral system in the wake of a highly disproportionate election result that ignored the preferences of a large chunk voters. Ukip, the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats all won 12 per cent, 8 per cent and 4 per cent of votes respectively in Thursday’s election – but none ended up with much more than 1 per cent of the seats. “We have a deeply unfair electoral system,” Green Party leader Natalie Bennett told the BBC.

Illinois: Vendor suing DuPage County election commission | Daily Herald

A DuPage County judge is being asked to decide whether the county’s election commission failed to give a San Diego-based company a fair opportunity to compete for a contract. Votec Corp. initially filed a protest with the county’s procurement office after the DuPage County Election Commission in November awarded Hart InterCivic a nearly $500,000 deal to supply the commission with electronic poll books, which are computerized logs to check in voters at the polls. Votec claimed in its protest that the election commission “violated and/or failed to adhere to” its procurement ordinance when it awarded the contract. But after reviewing Votec’s protest, the county’s chief procurement officer, John Meneghini, rejected it. Then an appeal of Meneghini’s decision was denied by commission Chairwoman Cathy Ficker Terrill.

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly for May 4-10 2015

EAC_260The chair of the Federal Election Commission says she has largely given up hope of reining in abuses in the 2016 presidential campaign, which could generate a record $10 billion in spending. Electionline Weekly posted an interview with the three new EAC commissioners. Three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court issed instructions to reconsider a December decision that upheld the maps, the North Carolina Supreme Court announced that it would hear arguments in August on the challenges to the 2011 redistricting maps outlining legislative and congressional districts across North Carolina. Ohio became the latest state to propose automatic voter registration. The Harris County Clerk and the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s offices successfully led opposition to a proposal for online voter registration in Texas. An editorial in the Deseret News warns of the security challenges facing proposals for an online primary in Utah. After two weeks of protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza bid for a third term, demonstrations in Burundi have degenerated into a man being burned alive in the capital, Bujumbura. The UK general election exposed flaws of the country’s “first past the post” voting system, as Conservatives won an outright majority of seats in Parliament with only 36% of the vote.

Guam: Challenge to Guam’s race-based plebiscite will go forward | Liberty Blog

The Guam legislature passed a law that allowed only “native inhabitants of Guam” to vote in an upcoming plebiscite concerning Guam’s political relationship with the United States. The plebiscite would ask native inhabitants to vote on whether Guam should seek statehood, independence, or a continued “association” with the United States. Arnold Davis is a resident of Guam, but was unable to register for the plebiscite because he was not a native inhabitant. Davis challenged the law as unconstitutional under the Fifth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The catch with this case was that the plebiscite would only occur once 70% of eligible native inhabitants registered to vote in it, and, in all likelihood, this 70% figure would never be reached. Thus,Guam argued that the case was not ripe and that Davis did not have standing to challenge the law because he could not show how he was being injured.

National: F.E.C. Can’t Curb 2016 Election Abuse, Commission Chief Says | New York Times

The leader of the Federal Election Commission, the agency charged with regulating the way political money is raised and spent, says she has largely given up hope of reining in abuses in the 2016 presidential campaign, which could generate a record $10 billion in spending. “The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” Ann M. Ravel, the chairwoman, said in an interview. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the F.E.C. is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.” Her unusually frank assessment reflects a worsening stalemate among the agency’s six commissioners. They are perpetually locked in 3-to-3 ties along party lines on key votes because of a fundamental disagreement over the mandate of the commission, which was created 40 years ago in response to the political corruption of Watergate.

National: Secure e-voting: 20 to 30 years away | Computer Weekly

Jeremy Epstein, senior computer scientist at non-profit research institute SRI International spoke to the Computer Weekly Developer Network blog this week to share his views on the possibility of electronic voting security. Epstein says that although some e-voting is happening in the US, Estonia and other countries — this is not *secure* e-voting, it’s just e-voting. Every system developed so far has been found to be insecure. “From a technical perspective, we’re at least 10 years away from secure e-voting, and many experts think we’re 20 or 30 years away,” he said.

Voting Blogs: Meet the new elections commissioners: US EAC has quorum for first time in several years |electionlineWeekly

Late in 2014, the U.S. Congress finally — and unanimously — approved the appointment of three new commissioners to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The commission had been without a quorum for four years with new appointments getting hung up on things the way most things on Capitol Hill get hung up — partisanship. And even with a quorum finally in place, some on Capitol Hill aren’t all that happy. Mississippi Rep. Gregg Harper has introduced legislation to eliminate the EAC. H.R. 195 calls for the termination of the commission and assigns remaining duties to the Office of Personnel Management and the Federal Elections Commission. The legislation has been referred to the House Administration Committee.

North Carolina: State Supreme Court sets August hearing in challenge to legislative and congressional redistricting | The Charlotte Observer

The N.C. Supreme Court issued notice on Thursday that it would hear arguments in August on the challenges to the 2011 redistricting maps outlining legislative and congressional districts across North Carolina. The notice comes nearly three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to North Carolina’s highest court with instructions to reconsider a December decision that upheld the maps. The challengers of the maps had requested a hearing in June, but the scheduled ruled on Thursday sets arguments for Aug. 31.

National: The Supreme Court said judges can’t solicit campaign contributions. This probably won’t matter. | The Washington Post

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Williams-Yulee v. State Bar of Florida, ruling that judicial candidates could not directly solicit campaign contributions. This marked the first time that the Roberts Court has ruled in favor of a 1st Amendment regulation in an elections case. At least some reporting about the case suggested it was a big deal, as seen in headlines like “Campaign finance reformers just won a massive victory at the Supreme Court.” In reality, the decision is likely to have very little impact on the actual conduct of judicial elections, or on how the public views those elections. Here is why. First, it is not clear that a judicial candidate’s personally soliciting campaign contributions necessarily makes that individual less impartial than a judge who does not personally solicit contributions.

Editorials: Is online voting a security risk? | ESET

The world is moving online and so too now is politics. But as online, electronic voting (e-voting) increasingly becomes a reality, are we opening ourselves up to vote rigging by power-hungry politicians or fame-seeking hackers? Voting has traditionally been a pen and paper exercise; a slip filled-in and placed into a sealed ballot, with results counted and recorded by independent volunteers. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the result can’t be swayed, unintentionally or otherwise. There have been some notorious examples of foul play – Slobodan Milošević was accused of rigging elections in 1996 and 2000 in Yugoslavia – while errors can also occur, as best illustrated by the 2000 US presidential election, when a fault with Florida’s ballot paper led some people to vote for the wrong candidate. … These risks are only magnified when voting systems are pushed online. Brazil, Belgium and Estonia are just a few examples of the countries to have taken to e-voting, and while they have seen the benefits from the improved speed, accessibility and legibility (no more illegible ticks or crosses), they are arguably more open to attack.

Florida: Despite pushback from Rick Scott admin, online voting bill goes to the governor’s desk | SaintPetersBlog

As part of an en masse drop of dozens of bills onto Gov. Rick Scott‘s desk courtesy of the Florida Senate, a bill to allow online voting registration sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Clemens now sits before the Governor’s Office, awaiting his review. Scott administration Secretary of State Ken Detzner openly opposed the measure, SB 228, as it wended its way through committee, saying it would interfere with already ongoing efforts to revamp the state’s voter rolls and registration system.

Indiana: Poll workers provide important yet often overlooked service to voters | News-Sentinel

When you’re out at the polls today, don’t just think about the candidates running for office, also keep in mind the the dedicated poll workers. After hours of training and — for many — more than 10 years of experience, poll workers flood into area voting sites at 5 a.m. to gear up for a 14-hour workday. While it pays well, anywhere from $95 to $175 for the day, the job involves a huge amount of responsibility as well as a deep knowledge of the election process and Indiana election laws. Poll workers are supplied to the election board thanks to the local political parties. Each party is responsible for providing poll workers.

Indiana: Opinions mixed on Porter County’s new electronic poll books | Chicago Tribune

How the first Porter County election with new electronic poll books went depends on who’s asked. From the standpoint of Kathy Kozuszek, Democratic representative in the county’s Voter Registration Office and a member by proxy of the county’s election board, the equipment was rife with glitches and errors during Tuesday’s primary, something she’s raised red flags about for some time now. As David Bengs, a Republican who’s president of the election board, sees it, there were some problems but overall, the feedback he received from poll workers was that they liked the equipment, which has been steeped in controversy.

Missouri: Mayor Sly James can stay on the ballot in Kansas City | The Kansas City Star

Mayor Sly James can stay on the Kansas City ballot in June. Jackson County Circuit Judge Joel Fahnestock on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block James from a place on the city’s general election ballot. Primary opponent Clay Chastain had filed suit against James, claiming James was delinquent on property taxes early this year and therefore could not run for re-election as mayor. Vincent Lee, who will also be on the mayoral ballot in June, attempted to join Chastain’s lawsuit in April. But Fahnestock said Chastain lacked standing to sue and had not explored other remedies to strike James from the ballot. Lee, she said, also waited too long to try to join the case.

New York: Lawyers want $6.9M from Albany County for redistricting case | Times Union

The lawyers who successfully sued the county to scrap its 2011 redistricting map are asking a federal judge to award them nearly $7 million in legal fees and related costs — a claim County Attorney Thomas Marcelle blasted as “so unreasonable as to almost border on unethical.” But the attorneys countered in their court filing that the bill is entirely county leaders’ fault — first for shortchanging minority voters and then for twice failing to approve settlements that would have capped the bill “because of political bickering among themselves.” The county “cannot escape the inarguable reality that each and every dollar of any fee award to plaintiffs’ counsel is a product of defendants’ recalcitrance,” they wrote.

Texas: House Republicans Open Another Front in Voter ID Fight | The Observer

Four years after Texas passed one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation, lawmakers will debate another measure on Thursday that could make it even more difficult for Texans to vote. House Bill 1096, by Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston), would require the address on a voter’s approved ID, such as a driver’s license, to match their voter registration address. Currently voter ID addresses and voter registration addresses do not have to match. If a voter registrar believes a voter’s residence is different from that indicated on registration records, the registrar may send the voter a residence confirmation notice. Voters can respond by submitting a signed response confirming their residence. Under HB 1096, voters would have to provide “evidence” that their residence address matches their voter ID.

Utah: Democrats can’t afford their own online presidential primary | The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Democrats said Wednesday they cannot afford the $100,000 needed to run their own online presidential primary next year, and instead simply will allow people to cast ballots at party caucuses. Lauren Littlefield, party executive director, blamed Republican infighting for blocking state funding needed for a true presidential primary and said that is forcing the alternative move that likely will hurt voter participation. Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans said Democrats “are creating fiction.” He said his party can afford and will offer online presidential primary voting, along with voting at caucuses, which he predicted will increase turnout. The controversy comes after the GOP-controlled Legislature failed to pass HB329 this year, which would have provided $3 million for a 2016 presidential primary for all parties. Without it, parties are forced to fund their own presidential-nomination efforts.

Washington: State Voting Rights Act gets an airing | The Spokesman-Review

A proposal to allow Washington cities to rearrange voting districts so minorities could have a greater voice in elections was praised Thursday as a way to avoid costly federal lawsuits and denounced as a Trojan horse for more litigation. The proposed state Voting Rights Act, which passed the House on a partisan vote during the regular session but stalled in the Senate despite bipartisan support, got an airing in a joint Senate committee work session. It’s unlikely to be revived for the special session, which is concentrating on budgets, but that didn’t keep tempers from occasionally flaring as legal experts disagreed on its effectiveness.

Ohio: Automatic voter registration proposed in Ohio | Troy Daily News

Potential changes in voter registration may be coming soon, which will add more than a million Ohioans to the state’s voter polls. Residents would be registered to vote automatically when seeking driver’s licenses or interacting with other state agencies, under legislation planned in the Ohio House and Senate. The bills also would allow online voter registration and automatically register graduating high school students.

El Salvador: ‘The Most Complex Elections’ Since the Signing of the Peace Accords | NACLA

It is already past midnight in Nejapa, El Salvador. Poll workers at the Jose Matías Delgado School voting center, exhausted after having arrived at 5 am, are still arguing over how to fill out the new count sheets introduced for this year’s electoral process. Scenes just like this were repeated all across El Salvador during the March 1st elections. Salvadorans took to the polls in relative calm to cast their ballot for mayors, National Legislative Assembly representatives and Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) legislators. Delayed openings, allegations of vote buying in rural areas and isolated confrontations between voters or poll staff did little to impede the active exercise of suffrage throughout the country. The process was declared broadly transparent by visiting international observation delegations, including that of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Guyana: Carter Center raps divisive election campaign in Guyana | Jamaica Observer

The Carter Center says Guyana’s electoral preparations appear to be on track, even as it expressed deep concern about divisive campaign rhetoric ahead of the May 11 polls. Since April, The Carter Center has deployed a team of five experts and six medium-term observers throughout the Caribbean Community (Caricom) country to observe preparations for the elections. They have conducted observation in all 10 of Guyana’s electoral districts and held meetings with a wide range of stakeholders, including political parties, the election commission, civil society organisations, and the judiciary.

Poland: Renewed Russia fears bolster Komorowski in Poland’s presidential race | Reuters

Buoyed by his strong defense background and Poles’ renewed fear of Russia stoked by the Ukraine crisis, Bronislaw Komorowski looks likely to win the first round of Poland’s presidential election on Sunday. How to ensure the security of Poland in the face of events in Ukraine was the paramount question presidential hopefuls had to answer when they gathered in a TV studio this week for a pre-election debate. That issue has preoccupied Poles since Russia’s intervention in neighboring Ukraine last year. While Poland is now a member of the European Union and a staunch NATO ally of the United States, it was under Soviet domination for decades after World War Two and so remains deeply sensitive to any Russian actions in the region.

United Kingdom: Election glitches leave some unable to vote | The Guardian

Dozens of people planning to vote in the closest election for decades were turned away from polling stations on Thursday morning. Voters in parts of east London and Dorset were told that IT glitches meant they were not registered on the electoral roll, despite many having polling cards. Meanwhile, some Britons who live abroad have complained that postal votes have arrived too late to guarantee they can exercise their democratic rights. In Hackney, where at least 30 people queued to complain outside the town hall, Alix Rowe was one of those left disenfranchised by the problems. The 23-year-old, who works in fashion PR, registered to vote before the deadline but did not receive a polling card. Knowing that it was not necessary to have a polling card, she went to two local polling stations but was told her name was not registered and they could not help her.