Yearly Archives: 2015

North Dakota lawmakers approved legislation Tuesday clarifying the acceptable forms of voter identification. But one state representative from Grand Forks said the bill does little to make it easier for students and others who had trouble casting a ballot at the polls last November. The final legislation doesn’t include a provision from the bill’s introduction that would have allowed bills, bank statements and change-of-address forms to be used to help prove residency. It also removes the ability for students to use identification certificates issued by their university. Under House Bill 1333, valid forms of ID will be a current driver’s license or nondriver’s ID card issued by the state Department of Transportation, an official tribal ID, a long-term care certificate prescribed by the secretary of state, or a current military ID card or passport.

Washington: $981,000: Latest cost for Yakima in ACLU voting rights case | Yakima Herald Republic

Yakima has paid more than $981,000 in attorney fees and expert witness costs in its voting rights case with the American Civil Liberties Union, according to records released by the city today. The City Council voted 5-2 last week to appeal the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a judge in federal district court ordered the city to change its council elections system. City officials supportive of the appeal are hopeful a Texas voting rights case with the potential to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court could give their argument enough weight to reverse the lower court’s decision.

Benin: Third term doubts overshadow Benin vote | Reuters

Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi promised voters and world leaders including Barack Obama he would step down when his second term expires next year but doubts over his pledge are overshadowing Sunday’s parliamentary election. Lawmakers from the president’s ruling alliance, the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), are trying to focus on jobs, roads and schools in the campaign, but his opponents portray the election as the only way to stop Boni Yayi clinging to power beyond the end of his mandate in 2016. His plans to reform Benin’s constitution – which would introduce a national electoral commission and state auditor to fight graft and ensure democratic elections – have fed the suspicions about the president’s real intentions.

Cayman Islands: Opposition says no to election changes | Cayman Compass

Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush, speaking to about 100 supporters in West Bay on Tuesday night, urged Cayman Islands Democratic Party voters to reject a move toward “one man, one vote” and single-member districts. Mr. Bush, joined by fellow MLAs Bernie Bush and Eugene Ebanks at the Sir John A. Cumber Primary School hall, said the proposed changes to local elections threatened Cayman’s democracy. “This is not something you play with. This is your democracy,” he said. He urged the supporters to attend the Electoral Boundary Commission meeting in West Bay next week. The commission is in the midst of a tour of the islands collecting comments on redistricting for single-member voting districts.

Kazakhstan: As succession struggle looms, Kazakhs poised to return leader | Bloomberg

Kazakhstan holds early presidential elections on Sunday and the only uncertainty over the result is the size of Nursultan Nazarbayev’s majority in extending his 26- year rule. Then the real struggle for power may begin. The veteran leader, who won 96 percent of votes in the 2011 election, is a shoo-in to beat two little-known opponents and win a fifth term. Voting starts at 7 a.m. local time and ends at 8 p.m. Preliminary results may be announced Sunday night, with a final tally due within 10 days.

Philippines: Comelec eyes new voting machines for 2016 polls | The Philippine Star

Following the Supreme Court ruling voiding its contract to repair the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is now looking for alternative machines to be used in the May 2016 elections. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body will ready an alternative plan and not wait for the ruling on the motion for reconsideration to be filed by Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp. “The possibility of the motion for reconsideration being granted in the future cannot be a basis for the Comelec not to take any action at this time. We need to start our preparations already,” Jimenez said.

Togo: Togo Votes Saturday in Presidential Poll | VoA News

Thursday is the last day of campaigning in Togo before Saturday’s presidential poll. President Faure Gnassingbe faces four challengers in his bid for a third term. The Gnassingbe family has ruled Togo for nearly 50 years since Gnassingbe Eyadema took power in a military coup in 1967. His son, Faure Gnassingbe, stepped into the office in 2005 when his father died. Some people in the West African nation say it is time to move on.

China: Hong Kong Presents Plan for Elections, Offering Little to Democrats | New York Times

Hong Kong entered a new bout of struggle over its political future on Wednesday, as the local government offered only minor changes to an election overhaul plan that set off months of pro-democracy demonstrations last year. Opposition lawmakers denounced the latest proposals, signaling the start of a political contest that will make or break the government’s plans. The Hong Kong government has wagered that it can persuade enough city legislators, and members of the public, to accept the latest proposal as the best deal that can be had from the Chinese Communist Party, whose leader, Xi Jinping, has repeatedly condemned liberal democracy as anathema to Chinese values.

United Kingdom: Almost half a million people register to vote on final day | The Guardian

Almost half a million voters registered in the final hours before the deadline to participate in the 7 May UK general election, the vast majority of them young people. More than 485,000 people registered to vote online on Monday, with 16,000 paper applications made. According to figures from Gov.uk’s voter registration site, thousands left their registration until the last minute – quite literally. The Electoral Commission data shows that more than 3,700 people were accessing the service at 11.59pm on Monday night. Spikes from Monday evening saw more than 18,000 people accessing the site at certain times.

Editorials: Jeb Bush is tearing down what little campaign finance law we have left. | Richard Hasen/Slate

Jeb Bush speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit on April 17, 2015, in Nashua, New Hampshire.
(Pseudo-non)candidate Jeb Bush speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Summit on April 17, 2015, in Nashua, New Hampshire. In February, the Campaign Legal Center, a group which works on campaign finance reform issues, released a “white paper” contending that many of the leading potential presidential candidates were likely breaking federal law by not declaring their candidacy or setting up a “testing the waters” committee for a presidential election run. Such a declaration, among other things, limits donors to giving only $2,700 to the (would-be) candidate for the presidential primary season. It was an excellent report, but many shrugged off its findings as just one more way in which the campaign finance system has begun to unravel since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

California: ‘Spoiled Ballots’ Subvert Will of Voters in Special Election | San Jose Inside

Sitting in what we affectionately call the “bat cave,” watching returns come in from the special election for San Jose’s District 4 council seat, Steve Kline noted there was something wrong. “There are too many spoiled ballots, “ he said. Kline, our numbers guy, was noting the difference between votes cast and votes counted. In a small turnout, spoiled ballots can make a huge difference. Fortunately, it did not affect our candidate in the race: Tim Orozco. But it did hurt Lan Diep, who should be Orozco’s opponent in the runoff, not Manh Nguyen. It is an anomaly that falls in line with the “butterfly” ballots cast in Florida for Pat Buchanan, back in 2000. The spoiled ballots cost Diep, who finished just 13 votes behind Nguyen.

Florida: Ridiculous, unnecessary special election in HD 64 wraps up today | SaintPetersBlog

It’s too soon to say whether or not Jamie Grant will be re-elected to his House District 64 seat. But not really. He will be elected and everyone knows this. Grant, who was first elected in 2010, is literally the only name on the ballot for the special election being held Tuesday. Voters will head to the polls in parts of both Hillsborough and Pinellas to cast their ballots in Grant’s shoo-in bid. Early voting in the election wrapped up over the weekend.

Florida: Online voter registration steaming ahead despite top elections official opposing it | KeysNet

Florida should join the parade of 20 states allowing online voter registration, says the Monroe County Supervisor of Elections. “I think it’s a good thing,” Supervisor Joyce Griffin said Tuesday. “It would save paper, save money and save aggravation. It’s the next logical step.” The Florida Legislature seems to agree as House and Senate bills creating an online registration application by October 2017 are moving forward in the waning weeks of the spring session. A Tuesday vote on the House bill was delayed over questions about a $1.8 million cost for the new system. The primary opposition to the bill comes from the administration of Gov. Rick Scott. Scott’s appointed elections chief, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, warned of a “train wreck” and possible computer fraud by “forces of evil” in testimony to a Florida Senate committee April 15.

Guam: Election Commission looking at upgrading voting experience | KUAM

Just as the Guam Election Commission prepares for a special election next month, they’re also preparing for future elections and ways to improve the voting system on Guam. GEC executive director Maria Pangelinan says her goal has always been to provide fair and honest elections locally. And next week, she’ll be attending a national conference to help do just that. “One of the other things I want to do while I’m there is to see how other states conduct the election, and with all the research and all the people that will be there, it’s a great way to network and learn what everyone else is doing,” she said.

Illinois: Some clerks moving forward with Schock election | Bloomington Pentagraph

State lawmakers are trying to help county clerks cope with a new voter registration law for the upcoming special election for former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock’s seat in Congress. But with the clock ticking on the July 7 special primary election, some clerks in the 18th Congressional District say the deadline for action by the General Assembly already has passed. Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said Tuesday he is moving ahead with plans to comply with the new law requiring counties to allow voters to register and vote on the day of the election at each polling place. “I don’t have time to waste,” Gray said.

Kansas: Kobach PAC now embroiled in state naming-law issue; ‘stupid’ PAC gets letter from ethics panel | The Wichita Eagle

A Wichita group’s effort to form a committee to “fix stupid” in Kansas politics has snagged the state’s top election official, Kris Kobach, who may be running a political action committee that is illegally named. Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, will be getting a letter from the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission questioning the legality of using the name “Prairie Fire PAC” for his political fundraising committee, said Carol Williams, executive director of the commission. State law requires PACs that are affiliated with a larger corporation or organization to note that in their name. Unaffiliated PACs must use names indicating who’s involved or the cause the PAC is advocating for, Williams said. Kobach said Wednesday his interpretation is the law doesn’t apply to a PAC like his.

New Hampshire: State Supreme Court hears arguments on voter bill | Associated Press

The New Hampshire Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about whether a 2012 law amending the language of voter registration forms discourages out-of-state college students and others living in the state temporarily from voting. Assistant Attorney General Stephen LaBonte told the justices the language merely clarifies that New Hampshire residents must abide by state laws requiring them to obtain driver’s licenses and register their cars in the state. Attorney Bill Christie, representing the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, urged the justices to uphold two lower-court rulings that deem the law’s language to be confusing and unconstitutionally restrictive on a person’s right to vote.

New York: Federal judge OKs Albany County’s new political map | Times Union

A federal judge on Tuesday blessed Albany County’s new political map, effectively ending a nearly four-year voting rights lawsuit triggered by a plan that shortchanged minority voters. Senior U.S. Judge Lawrence Kahn approved the map over the objections of the leadership of the Bethlehem Democratic Committee, which hoped to file a motion Wednesday arguing that the county used the court-ordered do-over to gerrymander at least one Democratic challenger out of an incumbent’s district. The new map was ordered by Kahn’s March 24 ruling that the county’s 2011 redistricting plan violated the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting African-American voting power — the third time in three decades the county has been forced to redraw its lines in the face of a Voting Rights Act challenge.

Guinea: Opposition calls protests nationwide over vote timetable | AFP

Guinea’s opposition sought to spur protests across the country against a disputed election timetable on Thursday after days of violent clashes in the capital, even as the president ruled out any review. Violence between supporters of the opposition Union of Republican Forces (UFR) and police during unauthorised protests in Conakry left several dead in recent days, but supporters are undeterred and seeking to consolidate their regional backing. Guinean President Alpha Conde insisted Wednesday that the country’s constitution rules out the kind of changes to the election timetable sought by opposition supporters.

Philippines: Comelec seeks alternatives | Manila Standard

With only a year, two weeks and three days to go before the 2016 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is considering using only the 23,000 optical mark reader (OMR) machines that are the subject of a public bidding, under a centralized setup, a spokesman for the agency said Wednesday. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said this “central count optical system” would bypass the need for the old 81,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, after the Supreme Court nullified a negotiated contract with Smartmatic-TIM to have them refurbished and repaired. “What we plan now is to use the machines that are still in the bidding process. We are considering using the 23,000 OMR units for a central count optical system,” Jimenez said. The CCOS would entail transporting ballots from a group of precincts to a designated voting center where they would be scanned and tabulated.

Russia: Opposition coalition to contest regional polls | BBC

Russia’s main opposition groups say they will combine forces to fight for election in three regions this autumn. They are hoping for a springboard for the 2016 national parliamentary vote. The “democratic coalition” was formed last weekend to unite six parties and groups under the banner of RPR-Parnas, the party of murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. The coalition includes the party of anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, but he cannot run for office. He is serving a suspended prison sentence in an embezzlement case that he argues was fabricated.

Uganda: New Measures to Prevent Voter Irregularities in Uganda | VoA News

The Electoral Commission of Uganda will use a biometric system – a system that uses human body characteristics to determine identity – to update its voters register ahead of next year’s general election, says Electoral Commission spokesman Jotham Taremwa. Denying reports that the electoral commission lacks funds needed to organize the elections within the next 10 months, Taremwa says the electoral body needs about $90,000,000 to organize the elections. The government has disbursed $67,000,000 but has yet to release the rest of the funds.

United Kingdom: Does ‘vote swapping’ work? | BBC

Vote-swapping websites seem to be gaining traction on social media. But what makes people swap votes, and will it really make a difference to the election result? Jodie Holland and Dr Tim Killeen don’t know each other. But they’ve made a pact. On 7 May, they will walk into polling stations in different constituencies and vote for the party the other wants to win. In doing so, both believe it will boost the chances of the party they want in power.

Editorials: Presidential candidates talk campaign finance reform | Rex Huppke/Chicago Tribune

Nobody is more passionate about the need for campaign finance reform than a presidential candidate about to campaign using unreformed finances. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said recently, between mouthfuls of money, that we need to “fix our dysfunctional political system and get unaccountable money out of it once and for all — even if it takes a constitutional amendment.” I suppose that constitutional amendment will be her first order of business as president, following a campaign that will reportedly raise up to $2.5 billion and accept donations from lobbyists and political action committees.

Editorials: New study rebuts John Roberts on Voting Rights Act | Zachary Roth/MSNBC

When the Supreme Court badly weakened the Voting Rights Act in 2013, it described the landmark civil rights law as outdated. The formula that Congress had used back in 1965 to decide which areas of the country should have their voting laws placed under federal supervision no longer matched modern patterns of discrimination, Chief Justice John Roberts claimed. “If Congress had started from scratch in 2006, it plainly could not have enacted the present coverage formula,” Roberts wrote for the majority, explaining why that formula was being struck down. But a comprehensive new study by a renowned historian and expert in voting discrimination suggests what voting rights advocates have been saying all along: that Roberts got it wrong.

Editorials: The Next Era of Campaign-Finance Craziness Is Already Underway | Jim Ruthenberg/New York Times

There may be no political adviser closer to Rand Paul than Jesse Benton. Benton was integral to Paul’s Senate run in 2010 and was a top strategist for both of Ron Paul’s Republican presidential campaigns. When a fellow Kentuckian, Senator Mitch McConnell, needed help with his re-election campaign last year, Rand Paul lent him Benton. Benton also happens to be married to Paul’s niece. So it would have been natural to expect Benton to move into Paul’s campaign headquarters as soon as he declared his candidacy for president. Not going to happen. On April 6, the day before Paul made his formal announcement, National Journal reported that instead, Benton will be running with several others America’s Liberty PAC, the principal Paul-supporting super PAC — the class of technically independent campaign organization that is free to spend as many millions of dollars as it can raise, without all those nettlesome regulations that limit donations to formal presidential campaigns to $5,400 a person.

Alabama: House lists crimes that forfeit voting rights | Associated Press

The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday listed which felony convictions will cause a person to lose voting rights, an issue that’s been the subject of debate, disagreement and at least one lawsuit. The Alabama Constitution dictates that people convicted of felonies involving “moral turpitude” are not able to vote. However, courts and state officials have wrestled with exactly what crimes are crimes of moral turpitude. House members voted 99-1 for the bill that lists 40 offenses that will strip a person of their right to vote. The disqualifying offenses range from capital murder to second-degree theft. A person would not lose voting rights for drug possession.

Arizona: Independents still get GOP primary vote | Arizona Daily Sun

Arizona’s nearly 1.2 million political independents will be able to continue to influence who Republicans nominate for office, at least for the foreseeable future. The executive committee of the Arizona Republican Party on Saturday rejected a proposal to try to close future primaries and limit participation to the 1.1 million who are officially members of the Grand Old Party. Party spokesman Tim Sifert said committee members concluded it made no sense to try to challenge a 1998 voter-approved measure which paved the way for independents to vote. That vote came despite a recommendation from state precinct committeemen to shut out the independents. But Sifert said such a legal move might cost $75,000. And he said only the executive committee can spend party money.

California: Bill to Make Voting Materials More Comprehensible Approved by Senate Elections Committee | California Newswire

The Calif. Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee today approved SB 505 authored by Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). The bill will ensure that California’s Voter Bill of Rights and other election materials are provided to voters in plain, accessible and easily understandable language. The bill now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration. “Citizens deserve clear communications during elections because it is vital that voters understand their eligibility to vote and how they can receive help with polling place problems,” said Senator Tony Mendoza. “Improving election materials by using plain language techniques is common sense,” added Mendoza.

Connecticut: Hartford Council Decides Not To Appeal Judge’s Registrars Ruling | Hartford Courant