Monthly Archives: January 2016

A nearly five-year-old legal fight that has caused political and racial rifts in Fayette County may be coming to an end. The county school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to settle its part in a legal dispute with the NAACP and a group of black residents over how county government leaders are elected. The school board agreed to settle and adopt a new district map that calls for four voting districts and one at-large district, an obvious compromise toward the county’s ongoing push to bring back at-large voting. The county currently has five election districts. “This compromise settlement is in the best interest of the school system and the public,” the school board said in a prepared statement. “It allows for the continuation of some at-large seats, and eliminates the school district’s potential exposure to payment of over $1 million of attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs’ lawyers if the case were litigated further, which would have led to more appeals.”

North Carolina: NAACP: Postpone voter ID trial until after primaries | Winston-Salem Journal

The N.C. NAACP is asking a federal judge to postpone a trial on the state’s photo ID requirement until after the March 15 primary, according to court documents filed Tuesday. The trial is set to start Jan. 25 in U.S. District Court in Winston-Salem. The state NAACP, the U.S. Department of Justice and others sued North Carolina and Gov. Pat McCrory in 2013 after state Republican legislators passed a controversial sweeping elections law known as the Voter Information Verification Act. Part of that law required people to show a photo ID this year when they cast their ballots.

North Carolina: Voting may take longer without straight-party option | Greensboro News & Record

Last week, Michigan became the latest state to eliminate straight-party voting. The action was contentious because it was political. “The vast majority of clerks around the state and Democrats in the Legislature opposed the bill because they feel it will create confusion at the polls and dramatically lengthen lines at polling precincts, especially in urban areas where hours-long waits are already not unusual,” the Detroit Free Press reported. North Carolina has gone that route, but without much fuss … so far. A barely noticed provision on page 38 of a 49-page election reform bill passed in 2013 eliminated straight-party voting (SPV). More attention was paid to changes in early voting and the requirement that voters present photo identification at the polls. Although there was no question about the legality of killing SPV, the move was politically risky. Voting for all the Democrats or all the Republicans on the ballot in a single stroke had been a hugely popular convenience for many decades in North Carolina.

Rhode Island: Board of Elections: Kando keeps job, with conditions | Providence Journal

Robert Kando, the $143,131 executive director of the Rhode Island Board of Elections, must enroll in management classes and will face a 15-day unpaid suspension from his post. The seven-member board met behind closed doors for 45 minutes Monday to determine Kando’s fate, concluding — at least for now — a months-long saga concerning Kando’s job performance. Kando, who has been executive director since 2005, was due to be terminated on Tuesday, unless the board took alternate action. The board voted 5 to 0 with one abstention Monday to nullify the pending termination, issue the temporary suspension beginning Feb. 1 and require Kando to enroll in three semesters of management classes at an educational facility of his choice. At the conclusion of three semesters, the board will review Kando’s performance and his relationship with the board. Kando will not be allowed to take vacation time during his suspension.

Virginia: Democrats Get Access to Docs in Voter I.D. Case | Courthouse News Service

Democrats challenging Virginia’s new voter photo I.D. law can inspect correspondence between lawmakers and lobbyists and others, a federal judge ruled. The law, signed by former Governor Bob McDonnell in 2013, requires all voters to provide photo I.D. at the polls. Lawmakers who supported the law claimed it helped prevent fraud in elections. But black and Latino Democrats, as well as voting rights activists Barbara Lee and Gonzalo Aida, claimed in court that the law is nothing more than a bald-faced attempt to keep young people and minorities from participating in elections.

Central African Republic: Two presidential candidates call for vote recount | Reuters

Two losing candidates in Central African Republic’s presidential race demanded on Tuesday a manual recount of ballots cast in last month’s first-round vote, saying that widespread irregularities undermined the credibility of the results. The election appears set to head to a second round after provisional results showed two ex-prime ministers – Anicet Georges Dologuele and Faustin Archange Touadera – in the lead but neither winning an outright majority. Observers have praised the mainly peaceful nature of the Dec. 30 polls, which many hope will help put an end to years of deadly inter-religious bloodshed. However, Andre Kolingba and Martin Ziguele, who finished third and fourth and are both members of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for Transition (AFDT) political platform, are disputing the result.

Niger: Electoral Commission ready for local govt polls | The Nation

The Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) has said that it will employ the use of the Card Readers used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the last general election. The commission also disclosed that the machinery for the conduct of the January 16 local government elections in the 25 local government councils in the state have been put in place. Disclosing this to reporters in Minna, the state capital, its Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Ali, said about 14,000 staff and 3,185 ad-hoc staff are being trained to operate the card readers.

Serbia: Premier Seeks Snap Ballot to Lock In Public Support | Bloomberg

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will ask his party to authorize him to call early parliamentary elections two years before his term ends as he maintains a strong lead in opinion polls despite growing criticism of his policies. The ruling Progressive Party’s board is scheduled to meet Jan. 17 to “discuss the political situation,” it said in an e-mailed statement in Belgrade on Wednesday. The prime minister wants approval to initiate elections before his party’s congress on Feb. 13, with the actual ballot to be held later. Vucic’s party, together with some small political groups, controls 135 seats in the 250-member parliament.

Taiwan: What to Expect in Taiwan Elections | The New York Times

Voters in Taiwan are expected to make history again when they go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president and legislature. China’s authoritarian government claims Taiwan as part of its territory, so any time the self-governing island holds an election, the world tends to pay attention. Taiwan held its first direct presidential election only 20 years ago. China’s president, by contrast, is selected by the governing Communist Party, not elected by the public. Tsai Ing-wen, the chairwoman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, is widely expected to become Taiwan’s first female president. Her party has traditionally favored formal independence for the island, so Beijing will not be pleased if she wins. Ms. Tsai, however, has pledged to maintain the cross-strait status quo. A victory for Ms. Tsai would be only the second time the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, has lost the presidency since Chiang Kai-shek’s forces fled to the island at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Taiwan: A historic election of firsts | The Globe and Mail

The onlookers are greying professors and teenaged students, a publisher of banned books, a sportswear salesman and more than a few people intent on undermining the Chinese Communist Party. They have flown to Taiwan on the eve of an election set to dethrone a party that has cultivated warmer ties with Beijing, and elevate instead a party with a history of seeking independence from China – led by a woman who, if polls are to be believed, will become the first female leader of a Chinese nation in modern history. For the Hong Kong activists and Canadian Taiwanese amid the foreign spectators, Taiwan’s Saturday ballot marks a chance to witness history and get swept up in the boisterousness of a campaign, but also to draw inspiration. Taiwan is the only mature democracy in the Chinese world, and for those seeking the same elsewhere, it offers as vision of what is possible.

Editorials: Presidential Election Year? Not For Millions of Ex-Felons | Yosha Gunasekera/Huffington Post

Incoming Kentucky Governor, Matt Bevin, set to work quickly. Through a series of executive orders, Bevin ensured that thousands of poor and minority individuals would not vote this year or potentially ever. Bevin reversed the work of his predecessor, former Governor Steven L. Beshear, who sought to ensure that Kentucky would no longer be one of only three states to permanently ban felons from voting. Bevin’s executive orders continue the long and repressive system of disenfranchising and alienating ex-felons. Almost six million Americans will not have the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote because they have been convicted of a felony. Ex-felons are released back into society with the expectation that they will lead full, law-abiding lives. However, denying felons fundamental freedoms that all other Americans enjoy make them second-class citizens. Out of the six million felons who have lost the right to vote, two-thirds have already completed their prison time. However, the punishment continues.

Voting Blogs: The Politician and the Gift | More Soft Money Hard Law

A number of political candidates over the years have recounted the experience of raising too much money, too much of the time, for their campaigns. They find it awkward and embarrassing to ask for the money, and the pace and intensity of this fundraising consume too much time that could be diverted to more productive uses. They understand the suspicions it raises in those looking on from the outside. Congressman Steve Israel is the most recent to write about experience, and he is a respected elected official whose contribution to this narrative will not be ignored. Israel is not talking about fundraising events to which tickets are sold, or about appeals on line or in the mail. It is about the person asked for money face to face, or ear to ear: the direct “ask”, which will be answered positively, negatively, or somewhere in between. It is a personal appeal, but one that is managed and strained: the candidate crammed in the cubicle with a phone, staff at his side, reading off notecards with bits of data about the fundraising target on the other end of the line.

Alaska: New online voter registration in place; PFD initiative backers want more | Alaska Dispatch News

With a ballot measure to simplify voter registration ready to move ahead, the Walker administration says its own online effort already is bringing results, signing up hundreds of new Alaska voters in less than two months. Alaska launched its online voter registration system at the end of November with the goal of increasing access to the ballot. Since then, 592 voter registrations have been completed, said Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, who oversees the state Division of Elections. The division on Monday announced the new online voter registration system and the hiring of a new language assistant manager for Yup’ik and Gwich’in voters. Also new this year: a connection between voter registration and Permanent Fund dividend applications. Alaskans can click a link to register to vote after they finish their PFD application.

Massachusetts: Vote-scanners built with standard PC gear give elections an upgrade | BetaBoston

Boston-based Clear Ballot Group Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new digital voting machine that could come in handy the next time election officials need to hold a recount. Unlike other machines that merely count the ink marks on paper ballots, the ClearCast voting machine scans and saves digital images of every ballot. These images can be inspected by officials to make sure votes were correctly counted. The system will also help election inspectors tally votes from improperly marked ballots. For example, a careless voter might circle a candidate’s name, instead of filling in the oval next to his name. With ClearCast, vote inspectors won’t have to physically inspect thousands of paper ballots to spot the blunder.

Michigan: Mixed feelings on elimination of straight party voting | Hillsdale Daily News

Just in time for the November presidential election, Governor Rick Snyder signed into law Senate Bill 13, which will eliminate straight party voting. With the signing of SB 13, Michigan joins 40 other states that require voters to select an individual for each elective office, rather than simply selecting a political party. “As governor, I have strived…

Missouri: House committee passes 2 voter ID measures | Associated Press

A Missouri House committee approved a pair of measures Tuesday aimed at requiring government-issued photo identification to vote. A similar ID law was struck down in 2006, with the Missouri Supreme Court saying it violated state residents’ constitutional right to vote. So, Republicans plan to turn the question to voters. One measure approved Tuesday would ask voters to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow photo ID requirements. The other bill would establish the legal framework for implementing such requirements. The bills, which both passed the Missouri House Committee on Elections by an 8-3 vote, are on a fast track, according to Rep. Sue Entlicher, a Republican from Bolivar who chairs the panel. She said House Speaker Todd Richardson wants a floor vote on the bills next week, though they still must be approved from the House Select Committee on State and Local Governments.

Nebraska: Senator eyes aging election technology challenge | Lincoln Journal Star

Nebraska needs to confront what may be a $20 million challenge in replacing its rapidly aging electronic election technology, Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln believes. Hansen introduced a legislative resolution (LR403) Tuesday to create an election technology commission to study the feasibility and cost of replacing election equipment throughout the state, including machines used by disabled voters and to count votes. “The machines may last another cycle or two, but it’s time to think about their replacements,” Hansen said. “We’re in uncharted waters,” he said. “The purpose of this resolution is to find a solution to the $20 million question: Who is going to purchase new machines?”

Ohio: Legislature might OK online voter registration soon | The Columbus Dispatch

After years of inaction, lawmakers are getting closer to having Ohio join most other states in allowing people to register to vote online, saving government money. “Online registration can boost participation while improving efficiency, ensuring accuracy and preventing fraud at the same time. It’s a classic win-win,” Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Copley, told a House committee on Tuesday. The bill, which the Senate passed 31-1 in June, expands the current system that allows voters to update their home addresses online — a system that Ohioans have used 295,000 times since August 2012. Secretary of State Jon Husted has argued for years that online voter registration would be more secure, convenient and accurate in addition to being less expensive than current paper registrations. The bill is backed by county elections officials, county commissioners and veterans groups.

Ohio: Elections experiment in Norton could strengthen voting process for all | Akron Beacon Journal

While there’s still no solution for what happened in November, when 861 voters were silenced after the post office failed to postmark absentee ballots, county elections officials are looking to a relatively tiny race in Norton to ensure they play no part in future screw-ups.
Summit County Board of Elections officials have devised a plan to determine, as quickly as possible, if votes are misplaced between the poll workers who collect them and the staff who count them. The plan, to be tested in Norton on Tuesday, involves comparing the number of ballots sent to each polling location with the number that return as either voted, voided or set aside as provisional ballots, which are counted after workers check voter eligibility.

Bangladesh: Election Commission moves to change poll symbols for female candidates | bdnews24

After coming under fire in the City Corporation and municipal polls, the Election Commission is changing symbols for female candidates. It had come under strong criticism for allotting household items to women during the city polls in April and the recent polls to 234 municipalities in December last year. An EC meeting on Tuesday proposed 10 new symbols dropping previous symbols like frying pan, ornaments and vegetables. Election Commissioner Md Shahnewaz said that they are now discussing over the proposed electoral rules and code of conducts for the upcoming Union Parishad (UP) polls. It will be finalised in a few days and forwarded to the law ministry for vetting, he added.

Ireland: For Dublin’s Homeless, a Precarious Right to Vote | Dublin Inquirer

In 2009, Benny Donnelly was homeless on the streets of Dublin. Mostly he slept rough, though occasionally he managed to spend the night in a hostel. But he was determined to have his say in the Treaty of Lisbon referendum. Donnelly was unsure of what procedure to follow, since he didn’t have an address. But, sure of his right to vote, he headed to Bridewell Garda Station – the closest one to Merchants Quay hostel – to register. “There was no one willing to help,” he recalls. Despite his efforts, he never learned how to register to vote without a permanent address, and he’s unclear on the matter to this day. “If there was a referendum on abortion tomorrow, I’d want to vote,” he says. But he wouldn’t know how. Article 16 of the Constitution guarantees the right to vote in Dáil elections to all citizens over the age of 18. But for some it is much more difficult to vote than for others.

Tanzania: Zanzibar president says regional vote re-run to go ahead | Reuters

The president of Zanzibar said on Tuesday that a re-run of the vote for a new leader of the islands, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, would go ahead despite calls by the opposition to scrap the plan. Zanzibar’s leader Ali Mohammed Shein did not announce a date, which will be set by the election commission. It is expected to take place in February. Tanzania has been one of Africa’s most politically stable nations but Zanzibar has been a hotbed of opposition to central government, with strong secessionist and Islamist voices. Votes on the islands are usually closely fought and often disputed.

United Kingdom: Expats fear time is running out to get voting rights restored before poll | Telegraph

Campaigners have responded with concern to a statement which reiterated a government pledge to restore voting rights for all British expats – without indicating whether this will happen in time for the EU referendum. One pensioner in France speculated that “Eurosceptics are holding this up in the Cabinet Office” amid fears that Britons who live in Europe would be most likely to vote against a Brexit. In a statement issued to Telegraph Expat, John Penrose, Minister for Constitutional Reform, said: “The 15-year rule has got to go. It’s why we said in our manifesto that we would scrap this outdated law and allow Britons a vote for life wherever they are.” But he did not say when that will happen. He went on to urge those who currently have the right to vote to join the electoral register as soon as possible.

Vanuatu: Candidate confusion kicks off snap poll campaigning | ABC News

Campaigning is officially underway in Vanuatu’s snap election set for January 22 amid confusion over the number of candidates taking part. Parliament was dissolved and elections announced late last year after 14 of the Government’s MPs were jailed in October to serve three-to-four-year jail terms, thus losing their seats in accordance with the constitution. More than 250 potential candidates applied to contest the election’s 52 seats, but many are yet to be approved — prevented from taking part until they repay government debts. Parties and candidates should have settled any outstanding monies owed to the Government, or its agencies, and receipts of payment provided to the Electoral Office earlier this week.

Editorials: Florida voting reforms should reflect reality | Miami Herald

There will be an abundance of issues competing for state lawmakers’ attention when they convene starting Tuesday for the 2016 legislative session. Voting reform, however, is not among them. Not unexpected — after all, it is an election year — but it’s too bad all the same. Florida, in some ways, remains a regressive state when it comes to making voting convenient, secure and easy to access for those who are eligible. Too much of such stagnation is mired in politics and policies calculated to disenfranchise some Floridians, be they ex-felons who must petition the state to regain their ability to vote, students who couldn’t find a voting site on major campuses or African-American voters who have seen early-voting sites curtailed in their neighborhoods. And then there are the lines, the interminable lines that, in 2012, made Florida pretty much irrelevant in the presidential election. It’s time for state legislators to take more of their cues from their constituents, who increasingly are not waiting to schlep to the polls on Election Day — a long-enduring but increasingly archaic event that pays homage to the country’s agrarian roots. But farmers no longer need an entire day to travel by horse to the county seat to vote.

Idaho: Boundary County now has new electronic voting tabulators, will be used in upcoming March Presidential Primary | Newsbf

Elections and voting in Boundary County will take a technological leap forward this year. Two months from today is the Idaho Presidential Primary election, scheduled for March 8. Boundary County voters on that day will find there has been a substantial change in how they cast their ballots. Up until now, ballots in Boundary County were counted by humans, and by hand. Four or five poll workers staffed the vote counting rooms. One worker would read each ballot aloud, one at a time, while a second worker observed closely as a witness to make sure the ballot was read correctly. Two or three other poll workers would tally votes as the ballots were read. After every 25 ballots, they would stop, and the workers tallying the votes would compare and balance their counts to ensure all were recording the same totals. Poll workers in the counting rooms were not allowed to leave the room until all votes were counted.

Louisiana: ‘Drastic change’ coming as Louisiana shifting to iPad voting, and it won’t be cheap | The Advocate

When Louisiana voters go to the polls to elect a governor in 2019 — if all goes to plan — they will cast their ballots on iPads. Secretary of State Tom Schedler said he’ll ask the incoming administration of Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards and the Legislature for money to roll out this new way of voting. The idea was first broached in 2014 by a presidential commission. A few counties, such as Denver and Los Angeles, already are experimenting with it, but Louisiana could become the first state to adopt the new technology. “It is a drastic change. We’re going to take it slow, but this is the best way to go,” Schedler said. His plan is to replace voting machines with tablet computers over the next three years, starting with the big parishes around Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans. This will give time to work out the kinks and train staff, as well as voters, on how it all works. “Money is the big obstacle. But we don’t have a choice,” said Schedler, a Republican who also is president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

Maryland: Baltimore City Council urges override of Hogan’s veto of sooner voting rights for ex-offenders | Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore City Council on Monday urged the Maryland General Assembly to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill that would have given voting rights to ex-offenders while on probation or supervised release. “There is a movement to override this veto,” said City Councilman Brandon Scott, who sponsored a resolution calling for an override that was adopted by the council. “These people are taxpayers. With everything that happened in our city, we should realize that we should invite people back into society.”

Maryland: Non-U.S. citizens likely to vote in Hyattsville city elections soon | Hyattsville Life & Times

At the Jan. 4 Hyattsville City Council meeting, councilmembers discussed a motion that would direct the city attorney to draw up a charter amendment concerning the qualifications of voters in municipal elections. The council is likely to pass the motion, which was submitted jointly by Council President Edouard Haba (Ward 4), Council Vice President Bart Lawrence, and Councilmembers Patrick Paschall (Ward 3) and Joseph Solomon (Ward 5). The biggest change proposed by this new legislation would allow non-U.S. citizens — even undocumented residents — to vote in municipal elections. According to a city memo, Maryland ended non-citizen voting rights in 1851, but left it up to municipalities to decide local voting rights. Six Maryland cities currently allow non-citizens to vote: Takoma Park, Barnesville, Garrett Park, Glen Echo, Martin’s Additions and Somerset.

Missouri: Ferguson Voting Rights Lawsuit Heads to Trial | Al Jazeera