The big U.S. Supreme Court decision affecting redistricting in Arizona, regarding whether drawing the lines for congressional districts has to be returned to the state Legislature from the independent redistricting commission, is still to come. But a decision handed down a couple of weeks ago (Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama) changed the game regardless of who next draws the lines.
Hartford’s city council is to begin its trial this week of three registrars of voters responsible for a disastrous 2014 election day. But the registrars were in state court Monday asking a judge to stop the removal process before it starts. The three registrars — a Democrat, a Republican, and one from the Working Families Party — are arguing that Hartford’s city council lacks the authority to remove them. In the end, a judge gave the parties another week to make their arguments.
At In These Times, author and journalist Rick Perlstein covers reports from some Chicago voters claiming that they received paper ballots today that were pre-marked for Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) in his runoff election against the more progressive Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D). … Perlstein details a few other similar reported incidents of pre-marked ballots from around the city in the election which the local CBS affiliate is now calling for Emanuel. The Chicago Board of Elections website currently shows Emanuel leading Garcia 56% to 44% with over 79% of precincts reporting at this moment.
The two Republican members of Albany County’s redistricting commission have submitted a proposal that they say would draw five majority-minority districts — as ordered by a federal judge — without changing any suburban districts. The plan — which was drafted by activist Aaron Mair, an expert witness against the county in the voting rights lawsuit the county lost last month — has voting age minority populations that range from 50.3% to 52.7% in districts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Keep in mind, Senior U.S. Judge Lawrence Kahn directed the county to create an additional, fifth majority-minority district based solely on residents who identified as black. Once Hispanic residents are included — something the plaintiffs argued in favor of in the lawsuit — the majorities are even larger.
The North Dakota Senate gave its thumbs up Tuesday to changes for voter identification, including eliminating the issuing of student certificates to college students. House Bill 1333, which amends language for acceptable forms of identification for voting, was passed by a 38-9 vote. Bill carrier Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, said acceptable forms of ID for voting in person are a current driver’s license, a non-driver’s license ID card, a tribal government ID and long-term care certificate.
The North Dakota Senate stripped language from legislation Tuesday that would have allowed voters to use a bill, bank statement or change-of-address form to prove their residency at the polls. Sen. Nicole Poolman, R-Bismarck, said county auditors had concerns with that portion of House Bill 1333. “It isn’t difficult to have these items sent to a different address where the voter does not reside,” she said. Senators also removed language allowing an expired driver’s license as an acceptable form of voter identification.
Ever tweeted a selfie of yourself voting? Or taken a quick photo of the long line you had to endure at the polling place, or of your child’s first visit with you to the voting booth? Did you quietly call your spouse while in line to vote to see if you need to bring home milk or bread? Or more seriously, ever recorded video of an election official challenging or denying your right to vote? Do any of those things again starting next year and you’ll violate the law under a bill nearing final legislative approval in Nashville. Both the Senate and House have approved Senate Bill 597 which says “any voter using a mobile electronic or communication device … shall be prohibited from using the device for telephone conversations, recording or taking photographs or videos while inside the polling place.”
As the count for the NSW Legislative Council creeps to a conclusion, there remains an outside possibility that an error in the NSW Electoral Commission’s iVote system could put the result at risk. For the first two days of voting for the election, the electronic ballot paper used for iVoting contained an error. Two of the groups on the ballot paper, the Outdoor Recreation Party in Group B, and the Animal Justice Party in Group C, were shown on the ballot paper without an above the line voting square. Around 19,000 iVotes were cast before the error was spotted. The error did not prevent votes being cast for candidate of the two parties, but it made voting for the two parties above the line impossible.
Helsinki voters won’t be getting much free coffee this election season, after the city banned parties from handing it out in major marketplaces. The country goes to the polls on 19 April and it’s a popular tradition for campaigners to serve steaming cups of the beverage during events. But that’s now been stopped after complaints from nearby coffee shop owners, the national broadcaster Yle reports. “Our sales are impacted immediately if the same product can be obtained for free,” says Timo Taulavuori from the Tukkutori group, which oversees Helsinki’s marketplaces. “This is unfair towards those who make a living from selling coffee.” Finns are among the biggest coffee drinkers in the world, with per capita consumption of 1.8 cups per day, second only to The Netherlands.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will no longer purchase precinct-based direct recording electronic (DRE) machines amid questions on the reliability of the touch screen technology. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez on Tuesday said the Comelec en banc had shelved the bidding of the project, which should have been part of the poll body’s P2.503 billion voting machines procurement program. Jimenez explained that the project has not been totally scrapped but the commission is “going a little slower on it than we used to.” The Comelec en banc recently came out with a resolution suspending the progress of the second round of bidding for the DRE and the pilot testing of the technology.
A Sudanese presidential candidate on Tuesday staged a sit-in in Khartoum to protest what he describes as “bias” on the part of the country’s official electoral commission. Hamdi Hassan Ahmed, who is running as an independent in presidential polls slated for April 13, accused the commission – and state media – of harboring bias for certain candidates during the campaigning period. “The electoral commission and the state-run media are very biased,” Ahmed told The Anadolu Agency. “They support the ruling party candidate and don’t allow us to express our views.”
A few weeks ago, a Massachusetts government agency you’ve probably never heard of settled a lawsuit over what kinds of forms it has to hand out to people who apply for welfare. That might sound dull, but it’s the backdrop for a fight against growing political and economic inequality. The lawsuit, brought by a coalition of nonprofit voting-rights groups, charged that the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance was in violation of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which requires agencies that offer public assistance to help their clients register to vote. The coalition claimed the department wasn’t handing out voter-registration forms or taking other steps to ensure that people who wanted to register did.
The charade comes to an end this month for many of the 2016 presidential contenders, who have long avoided saying they are running — while they are so obviously running — in order to sidestep rules that burden declared candidates. Ted Cruz is already in. Rand Paul is expected to follow suit Tuesday. Marco Rubio has a big announcement planned a week later. The timing, like most things in politics, is driven by money. April marks the start of a sprint to raise as much of it as possible for an official candidacy before the summer reporting deadline, which lands as televised primary debates are about to get underway. Candidates who fail to show that the early big money is flowing into campaign accounts could quickly falter. One big exception is Jeb Bush. Although he is perhaps the least coy of the pre-candidates about his plans to run — and among the most aggressive fundraisers — his announcement may not come for a while.
Plans for online voter registration are moving through the Florida legislature. Thursday, a Senate committee approved legislation that would implement the system. Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho says it’s seen as the last great hurdle to overcome in the area of voter registration. “We’re just talking about making the process convenient to citizens using technology that they’re already using for almost every other kind of application that’s being done,” said Sancho. But some election supervisors across the state say it appears the governor’s office is trying to kill the bill.
A Republican bid to cut early voting in Georgia – which was slashed once already not long ago – failed last week after voting rights activists mobilized against it. A measure that would have cut the maximum number of early voting days that counties could offer from 21 days to 12 passed a House committee in February, and its prospects for passage in Georgia’s GOP-controlled legislature looked good. It would have left only one weekend of early voting, and just four hours on Sunday. But when the state’s legislative session ended Thursday, the bill hadn’t received a full house vote. That means its supporters would have to start from square one when the legislature reconvenes, or tack the cuts on to a different measure. The effort’s apparent demise came after feverish organizing by a broad coalition of voting rights, civil rights, good government, and Democratic groups.
As Chicagoans trek to the polls Tuesday for the city’s first-ever mayoral runoff election, some may wonder why they can’t yet vote from the palms of their hands. “For me the biggest benefit of online voting would be convenience,” said K.C. Horne, a 26-year-old accountant from Edgewater. “If I can file my taxes from my phone, I should be able to vote from my phone.” But so far, both technological and legislative hurdles have sharply limited the use of online voting. One major difference: The need to keep the user’s identity secret makes filing ballots different from other secure online transactions. “It’s an unconventional transaction where you have to be able to do business with me, but I can’t know exactly what you’re buying,” said Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon met with Meeker County Auditor Barb Loch on Monday to discuss election-related issues, including concerns about aging election equipment. Simon, who made six stops in the region Monday, said a common concern among local officials is finding money to replace a fleet of election equipment purchased about 10 to 12 years ago with federal funds. Those federal dollars are no longer available, Simon said during an interview after his meeting with Loch. “Now the question is … what can we do to alleviate costs for counties,” he said, adding that he is hoping the state can help pay for new machines, which run as much as $7,000 each.
With lawsuits pending in federal court on sweeping changes to North Carolina elections law, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review questions about two specific provisions dealing with same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting. The decision is just a step in a protracted legal process that began in 2013 when the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, registered Democrats and others challenged changes to voting procedures adopted by the Republican-led legislature. Because U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder has set a trial for July 2015 to hear arguments for and against constitutional questions about the 2013 changes, the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday has little impact.
North Dakota drew one step closer Monday to joining a minority of states requiring special elections to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate. The Senate passed House Bill 1181 by a 27-20 vote. The bill would require the governor to call a special election to be held within 95 days. If the Senate term is set to expire in less than 95 days, no election to fill the vacancy would be needed. A pair of amendments by Democratic-NPL senators failed prior to the final vote. One was to allow for an interim appointment to the Senate, the other would have required elections for all statewide offices.
A growing number of states have updated their election laws to make the hub of the democratic process more convenient and voter-friendly, but so far Pennsylvania isn’t among them. Twenty-one states allow online voter registration and three others have passed similar laws that have yet to take effect. Thirty-six states permit all voters to cast ballots prior to Election Day and 10 allow voters to register and vote on the same day, all according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Philadelphia officials are focused on getting new voting machines to replace the original crop of electronic machines, now more than a decade old. But a bit of bureaucracy may hinder the purchase. The mayor’s new budget sets aside $22 million for new voting machines, with the hope to having them in place for the May 2017 primary. At a city council budget hearing this past week, Chief Information Officer Adel Ebeid said the current machines are past their useful life.
Dozens of local governments — including Fairfax City and Arlington — could be left scrambling to replace all of their voting machines after a state report called into question the accuracy and security of one-fifth of Virginia’s aging equipment. The state Board of Elections will decide at a public hearing on April 14 whether to scrap the touch-screen voting machines used in 30 counties and cities. The board will accept public comment through April 12. Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration is eager to settle the issue in time for the November election, when all General Assembly seats will be on the ballot — but also before the 2016 presidential contest. … The latest voting machines flap was prompted by complaints from voters who had trouble casting ballots in November. McAuliffe, who said he grappled with a malfunctioning machine at a Richmond precinct, called for an investigation into machine irregularities.
According to the Council of Canadians, there were 100,000 Canadians who got the chance to vote in 2011 because someone vouched for them. And there were 400,000 Canadians who used voter-information cards to gain access to the ballot box. The council claims that with amendments put in place by Stephen Harper’s government through the Fair Elections Act, those votes could be in jeopardy. The new act does not allow for individuals to vouch for more than one person and it also prohibits the use of voter-information cards.
Sudan’s presidential and parliamentary elections take place as opposition figures rot in jail and the government’s campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ makes it dangerous, if not impossible, for millions to vote. Newspapers are routinely confiscated and peaceful protest is crushed with unhesitating brutality. Respectable international election-monitoring organisations are unlikely to be present, because few conditions for a credible election exist. Nevertheless, after the 13-15 April poll, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) will claim to have a legitimate mandate. The result will be recognised by Sudan’s supporters within the Arab League and the African Union (AU) and by its business and military partners, such as Iran, China and Russia. Officials in the US, the UK and the EU will likely wait until afterwards to express any doubts about its validity, ostensibly because they do not wish to damage the unlikely possibility that there might be a meaningful national dialogue about the future of Sudan—their concerns will attract little attention.
Conservative state legislators frustrated with the gridlock in Washington are increasingly turning to a plan to call a convention to consider a new amendment to the U.S. Constitution — an event that would be unprecedented in American history and one that could, some opponents predict, lead to complete political chaos. Legislators in 27 states have passed applications for a convention to pass a balanced budget amendment. Proponents of a balanced budget requirement are planning to push for new applications in nine other states where Republicans control both chambers of the legislature. If those applications pass in seven of the nine targeted states, it would bring the number of applications up to 34, meeting the two-thirds requirement under Article V of the Constitution to force Congress to call a convention. What happens next is anyone’s guess.
Come next election, Alaskans may be able to register to vote as late as Election Day under bills introduced in the Senate and House that call for elimination of the current 30-day pre-election voter cutoff. Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, ran for lieutenant governor last year and discussed voting issues and problems with people all over the state, she said. “The biggest issue people had was access to voting and making it easier,” she said. “We have really low rates in our state.” McGuire’s bill, Senate Bill 93, and a companion bill, House Bill 95, would allow Alaskans to register and vote on the same day. Now, they must have been registered a month before an election to cast a ballot.
Indiana’s record-low voting turnout in the 2014 election reflects challenges with midterm elections and raises scrutiny of how states register their voters, a new report says. Since 2002, Indiana has consistently been ranked among the five states with the lowest midterm voter turnout. Just over 28 percent of Indiana’s eligible voters cast a ballot last year, the lowest rate in the nation, the Tribune-Star reported. “The last time Indiana was in the top 25 for voter turnout nationwide was in 1982,” said George Pillsbury, senior consultant for Nonprofit VOTE and author of the report “America Goes to the Polls 2014: A Report on Voter Turnout for the Midterm 2014 Election.”
Secretary of State Kris Kobach said a researcher wanting to check the accuracy of voting machines from the November election missed her opportunity to do so before the votes were sealed. For the first time, Kobach commented Friday on a lawsuit, in which he is a defendant, involving election results in Sedgwick County. Kobach was added as a defendant Wednesday to a lawsuit brought in the Sedgwick County District Court by Beth Clarkson, the chief statistician for the National Institute for Aviation Research, who is seeking to study the accuracy of reported vote tallies in Sedgwick County. She emphasized that this activity is independent from her duties at the institute.
As presidential hopefuls swing by New Hampshire on a near-weekly basis to start making their pitches to prospective voters, state officials – in the legislative, executive and judicial branches – are busy weighing a number of changes that could affect who’s able to cast a ballot here in 2016. “There are ideas, depending on what party you belong to, as to how elections should look,” David Scanlan, deputy secretary of state, explained in an interview last week. “And there’s always a tension that takes place between ease of voting and just doing our best to protect the elections from fraud. The tug of war takes place with every change of party that’s in power.”
Looking into what went wrong when Virginia Beach supporters of Rep. Scott Rigell couldn’t get voting machines to register their choice last November, the state Department of Elections found problems with some touchscreen machines — but not the kind that frustrated Rigell’s backers. Instead, it found such serious problems with another, aging touchscreen device — AVS WinVote — that it thinks the State Board of Elections should consider stopping its use altogether. … In November, dozens of Virginia Beach voters reported that machines were recording their votes for Rigell as votes for his opponent, Suzanne Patrick. The city used 820 touchscreen machines — unlike localities on the Peninsula, it relied on them as its primary means of voting. In Newport News, the two voters who reported problems on Election Day said their votes for Sen. Mark Warner were shown as votes for his GOP opponent, Ed Gillespie. The more serious problems emerged when the consultant audited the WINVote machines in Henrico and Spotsylvania counties, which are different from the machines Virginia Beach and Newport News use.