National: Analysis: Could hackers tip an American election? You bet | Chicago Tribune

Reports this week of Russian intrusions into U.S. election systems have startled many voters, but computer experts are not surprised. They have long warned that Americans vote in a way that’s so insecure that hackers could change the outcome of races at the local, state and even national level. Multibillion-dollar investments in better election technology after the troubled 2000 presidential election count prompted widespread abandonment of flawed paper-based systems, such as punch ballots. But the rush to embrace electronic voting technology – and leave old-fashioned paper tallies behind – created new sets of vulnerabilities that have taken years to fix. “There are computers used in all points of the election process, and they can all be hacked,” said Princeton computer scientist Andrew Appel, an expert in voting technologies. “So we should work at all points in that system to see how we make them trustworthy even if they do get hacked.”

National: Democrats ask FBI: Did Donald Trump aides’ Russia connections lead to cyberattacks? | CBS

Top House Democrats are asking the FBI to investigate whether connections between Donald Trump’s campaign aides and Russian interests led to the cyberattacks at the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We are writing to request that the FBI assess whether connections between Trump campaign officials and Russian interests may have contributed to these attacks in order to interfere with the U.S. presidential election,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday. The letter was signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, ranking member on the Homeland Security Committee.

National: Russia-Backed DNC Hackers Strike Washington Think Tanks | Defense One

Last week, one of the Russia-backed hacker groups that attacked Democratic computer networks also attacked several Russia-focused think tanks in Washington, D.C., Defense One has learned. The perpetrator is the group called COZY BEAR, or APT29, one of the two groups that cybersecurity company CrowdStrike blamed for the DNC hack, according to founder Dmitri Alperovitch. CrowdStrike discovered the attack on the DNC and provides security for the think tanks. Alperovitch said fewer than five organizations and 10 staffers researching Russia were hit by the “highly targeted operation.” He declined to detail which think tanks and researchers were hit, out of concern for his clients’ interests and to avoid revealing tools and techniques or other data to hackers. CrowdStrike alerted the organizations immediately after the company detected the breaches and intruders were unable to exfiltrate any information, Alperovitch said.

National: Comey: FBI takes election tampering ‘very seriously’ | Politico

One day after reports the FBI had warned states of potential hacks on their election systems, Director James Comey declined to address the bureau’s investigation, simply insisting he takes the matter “very seriously.” The FBI alert — sent Aug. 18 and revealed publicly on Monday — sparked fears that recent cyberattacks on voter databases in Illinois and Arizona were harbingers of a nationwide hacking assault on state voting systems, possibly linked to Russia. “It won’t surprise you that I’m not going to give an answer that touches on any particular matter we’re looking at,” Comey said Tuesday at a conference hosted by digital security firm Symantec.

Arizona: State elections department to increase computer security | Arizona Daily Star

State election officials are looking at an additional level of security after fears earlier this year that the voter database had been hacked. Matt Roberts, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said Monday the agency wants to implement “two-factor authentication” before anyone can get access to the list of registered voters. That would involve users providing more than just the sign-in name and password now required. The move follows what Roberts said was the FBI telling state officials nearly two months ago there was a “credible threat” that the database had been compromised. He said the state took the database offline and then examined it to see if any malware had been uploaded into it. “We were unable to find any of that,” Roberts said.

California: Measure phasing out neighborhood polling places goes to Jerry Brown | The Sacramento Bee

California is on the verge of sweeping changes to its election system intended to boost plummeting voter turnout. The state Senate on Monday sent a measure to Gov. Jerry Brown that would begin shifting California away from its network of neighborhood polling places to primarily mail ballots. Based on a model used in Colorado, Senate Bill 450 would authorize counties beginning in 2018 to conduct elections where every voter is mailed a ballot and drop-off locations are available up to four weeks ahead of time in lieu of polling places. Temporary “vote centers” would also be open starting 10 days before the election to register voters and accept ballots.

Indiana: Uncertainty rules Indiana’s laws on guns at polling places | CBS 4

A CBS4 inquiry of a law professor, the Secretary of State, a Second Amendment attorney and Marion County election officials about the legality of guns in Indiana polling places led to blank stares, confusion, misdirection and legal head scratching. Over the course of four days earlier this month, Donald Trump challenged gun owners to do something about what he termed Hillary Clinton’s plans to, “essentially abolish the Second Amendment,” and also called on poll watchers to prevent what he’s predicting to be a “rigged” election. “I would really be hopeful that anyone trying to make a point about exercising their Second Amendment rights would do that in a respectful way that wouldn’t in any way interfere with anyone’s right to vote,” said Carmel attorney Guy Relford who won a landmark voting-while-armed lawsuit following the 2012 primary election.

Kansas: State Supreme Court asked to order grand jury on Kobach | The Wichita Eagle

A former legislative candidate is asking the Kansas Supreme Court to force a grand jury investigation of Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Steven X. Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said Tuesday that he has asked the state’s highest court to require that the Douglas County District Court summon a grand jury. Davis said in a statement that the jury needs to investigate Kobach because of rumors that his office intentionally suppressed voter registration. Davis does say that his evidence is slim. By law, people in Kansas can call for a grand jury investigation by gathering a specific number of signatures. Six states, including Kansas, let citizens petition for a grand jury. Davis said he successfully gathered the signatures and submitted them in late July.

Missouri: Black Activists in Missouri Are Fighting to Preserve the Right to Vote | The Intercept

… Something else she never thought she’d be doing in 2016 was fighting to preserve the right to vote. Yet that’s exactly what she and dozens of other black activists have undertaken across the country, some for the second time in their lives, after a 2013 Supreme Court decision gutted a major provision of the Voting Rights Act. The elimination of that provision, which required nine states and many other localities with a history of racial discrimination to secure federal approval before changing election laws and procedures, sparked a series of measures across the country effectively restricting access to the polls with a disproportionate impact, once again, on black voters.

North Carolina: Republicans Accused of Dodging Order to Fix Election Rules | The New York Times

When a federal appeals court overturned much of North Carolina’s sweeping 2013 election law last month, saying it had been deliberately intended to discourage African-Americans from voting, something else was tossed out as well: the ground rules for this year’s elections in a critical swing state. In each of the state’s 100 counties, local elections boards scheduled new hearings and last week filed the last of their new election rules with the state. Now, critics are accusing some of the boards, all of which are controlled by Republicans, of staging an end run around a court ruling they are supposed to carry out. Like the law that was struck down, say voting rights advocacy groups and some Democrats who are contesting the rewritten election plans, many election plans have been intentionally written to suppress the black vote. “It is equal to voter suppression in its worst way,” said Courtney Patterson, the sole Democrat on the Lenoir County elections board.

North Carolina: Does same-day voter registration increase fraud risk? Experts disagree. | The Charlotte Observer

The N.C. Republican Party has urged GOP-led county elections boards this year to limit the hours of early voting, warning about the higher chances of voting fraud with same-day registration. The state party has cited data that shows people who use same-day registration are unable to be verified at a higher rate than people who use regular registration. But defenders of same-day registration say that doesn’t amount to attempted voter fraud. Most of the focus of the state’s 2013 voter law has been on the requirement for a photo ID, which Republicans said would prevent fraud and Democrats said would suppress minority voting. In July, a panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the state’s voting law. Barring a reversal, there will be no photo ID needed in November, and same-day registration has been resurrected for early voting. On Aug. 21, N.C. GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse tweeted, “Fraud Alert. In North Carolina Same day registration 8 TIMES more likely to be invalid after the vote has occurred and been counted.” Earlier this month, Woodhouse emailed GOP appointees to county elections boards to “make party line changes to early voting” by limiting the number of hours and keeping polling sites closed on Sundays.

Texas: Attorney General’s office questions state’s authority in maintaining voter lists | The Monitor

A representative from the Texas Attorney General’s office appeared her in court Monday to argue that the state should not be held responsible in the lawsuit by the American Civil Rights Union against the Starr County elections administrator. Assistant Attorney General Adam Bitter said the office was contacted by the ACRU about the case and proceeded to submit a brief arguing that, in this case, the state did not have the authority to ensure that Starr County maintain proper voter lists. However, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa appeared confused as to why the attorney general’s office had gotten involved and said it was the Texas Secretary of State that should be held responsible. “I really don’t understand why you refuse to bring in the proper party,” Hinojosa told the attorneys representing the ACRU.

Texas: State Will Hold Another Election Without a Ruling on Redistricting | KUT

A legal battle over some of the state’s political districts still isn’t over. About half a decade ago, a group of Texas voters sued the state claiming the legislature’s 2011 redistricting maps discriminated against minorities. About two years ago, there was a trial, but since then nothing has happened. There are a lot of reasons for Texas’ political districts have been the subject of contention for a while. For one, some voting advocates say the state is divided in really partisan ways, and it’s made people less interested in voting here, says Grace Shimane with the League of Women Voters of Texas. “There is not as much competition in Texas as there are in other places,” Shimane explains. “And there isn’t much competition in races sometimes because of the way that the maps have been configured. It makes it so people are as though ‘What’s the point? My person never wins, I’m not going to try.’”

China: Candidates to face ‘follow-up action’ if they back Hong Kong independence, government warns | South China Morning Post

Candidates who advocate ­independence for Hong Kong on the campaign trail ahead of ­Sunday’s Legislative Council elections will face possible “follow-up actions”, the government warned on Tuesday. The heads-up came a day after a third Legco candidate, Kacee Wong Sum-yu, publicly declared her support for the idea of separating Hong Kong from China. The issue is at the centre of a fierce debate in the city, with the government warning that it violates the Basic Law while advocates counter that it is a mater of free speech. Voters go to the polls this weekend for the first full legislative elections since the 2014 Occupy protests in the name of democracy. “The government is concerned that … individual candidates have during the election period advocated or promoted the independence of the Hong Kong SAR,” an official spokesman said.

China: Young activists take on China in key Hong Kong election | AFP

When Hong Kong goes to the polls on Sunday a new brand of politician pushing for a complete break from Beijing will be fighting for votes in a frustrated and divided city. It is the most important election since the mass “Umbrella Movement” pro-democracy rallies of 2014, which failed to win political reform despite huge numbers and a global spotlight. Since then, fears have grown that Beijing is tightening its grip in many areas of the semi-autonomous city — from politics to education and media. Some young activists now say there is only one choice: a declaration of independence from China. Many residents still dismiss the idea as a pipe dream, but the independence movement has gathered momentum as authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing rail against it.

Gabon: Tension mounts as Gabon awaits results of presidential vote | Associated Press

Security forces fanned out across Gabon’s capital and residents stockpiled food on Tuesday as the central African country awaited results of a hotly contested presidential election. The most prominent opposition candidate, Jean Ping, was looking to defeat incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba and topple a family dynasty that stretches back to the 1960s. Bongo, 57, came to power after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for more than 40 years. Ping, 73, has spent the three days since Saturday’s vote predicting victory and calling on Bongo to step down. Bongo’s camp, meanwhile, has said the president is sure to win.

Russia: No easy task for Russian citizens to cast ballot in Ukraine | Ukraine Today

Russia will hold elections to the State Duma, the lower house of the parliament, on Sept.18. For Russian citizens living in Ukraine, participating in next month’s parliamentary elections won’t be as easy as it was five year ago, when there were 17 voting stations scattered across the country, Meduza reports. This year, citing concerns about safety, Russia is only making four voting stations available to citizens. In 2011, roughly 23,000 Russians voted in Ukraine.