National: Sessions’s testimony highlights Trump’s deep lack of interest in what Russia did in 2016 | The Washington Post

Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho) made a comment during the Senate Intelligence Committee’s questioning of Attorney General Jeff Sessions that has an obvious exception. “I don’t think there’s any American,” Risch said, “who would disagree with the fact that we need to drill down to this” — that is, Russian meddling in the 2016 election — “know what happened, get it out in front of the American people and do what we can to stop it again.” There is one American, at least, who seems generally uninterested in that need: Sessions’s boss, President Trump.

National: Russia Could Hack 2020 Election, Too, Report Says—39 States Hit in 2016 | Newsweek

The 2016 elections may have just been the beginning. Russian hackers attacked voter databases and software systems in 39 states during last year’s elections, and authorities fear that while the tampering may not have affected vote totals, it’s possible Russia learned enough from the attacks to put 2020’s presidential election in its crosshairs, sources with knowledge of the U.S. investigation told Bloomberg. The report, published Tuesday morning, said Illinois investigators discovered that hackers attempted to delete or alter voter data in the state’s voter database. (California and Florida were the only other states directly mentioned.) The Illinois database held some 15 million names—half were active voters—and 90,000 records were potentially compromised.

National: Russia’s already done some of the damage to American elections that it sought | The Washington Post

There are two documents created during the 2016 election cycle that help detail precisely how American electoral systems are secured. The first was a letter written by the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections explaining how the state secured its voters’ choices. Florida uses paper ballots, which are scanned on devices that are not connected to the Internet or to each other and each of which is tested before Election Day. The tally from those machines is transmitted to the state with several layers of encryption, and is backed up with and verified against thumb drives that are digitally secured. Those tallies are then verified against the machines themselves.

National: New Bipartisan Sanctions Would Punish Russia for Election Meddling | The New York Times

Senate leaders said they had reached an agreement late on Monday to approve new sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and for the country’s conduct in Ukraine and Syria, delivering a striking message to a foreign power that continues to shadow President Trump. The bipartisan measure would place the White House in an uncomfortable position, arriving amid sweeping investigations into ties between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia. The sanctions package would also cut against the administration’s stated aim to reshape the United States’ relationship with Russia after Mr. Trump took office.

California: Democrats push to change recall election rules | Associated Press

California Democrats moved Monday to change the rules governing recall elections, potentially hampering the campaign to remove a Democratic state senator from office. Under the proposal, people who sign a recall petition would have 30 days to rescind their signatures after they have been submitted to election officials. It would also give lawmakers an additional 30 days to weigh in on how much a recall election would cost. It was introduced Monday as part of a budget bill in an effort to protect Democratic Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton, who is facing a recall effort over his vote to increase the gas tax. Democrats will lose their supermajority in the Senate if Newman is recalled.

Georgia: Judge throws out request to use paper ballots in the upcoming special election | Slate

On Friday, a judge dismissed the lawsuit to use paper ballots in the upcoming June 20 special election to decide the Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat. The high-profile race between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel will fill the seat left behind by Tom Price, who now serves as Trump’s secretary of health and human services. … Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp appeared happy with the results and said that he applauds “the judge for finding what we already know: Our voting machines in Georgia are safe and accurate.” However, Kemp has previously expressed concern about voting-system security. In 2016, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp accused the Department of Homeland Security of trying to hack into Georgia’s computer network.

Indiana: State GOP Responds To Indiana Voter Registration Project Arrests | Indiana Public Media

The Indiana Republican Party demanded an apology today from Democrats who criticized a state investigation into possible voter fraud. The press conference comes after 12 people working for a political action committee were arrested in connection with that investigation. Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer says Democrats unfairly criticized Secretary of State Connie Lawson and Indiana State Police last October, during an investigation of a political action committee, the Indiana Voter Registration Project.

Louisiana: Civil rights group appeals voting ban for 70,000 Louisiana felons on parole, probation | The Times-Picayune

The legal battle over the voting rights of more 70,000 Louisiana residents on probation or parole will continue as civil rights groups announced Tuesday (June 13) their intention to appeal a state court’s ruling denying ex-offenders that right. The Advancement Project, a national civil rights and racial justice organization based in Washington, D.C., filed notice with the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal of their intention to challenge a March 13 decision by 19th Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley in Baton Rouge. Kelley rejected a 2016 lawsuit seeking to restore voting rights of people on probation or parole for felony crimes, saying that, while he believed it to be unfair, it is legal under the state constitution to deny convicted felons that right, according to the Associated Press.

New York: Early voting in New York? Reformers make last-ditch push | WGRZ

part of a push to reshape the state’s often-criticized voting laws as time winds down on New York’s annual legislative session. Former gubernatorial and congressional candidate Zephyr Teachout joined good-government groups and labor unions Tuesday for a last-gasp rally, hoping to convince the the state Legislature to approve voting reforms — including one that would allow early voting — before leaving the Capitol. State lawmakers are scheduled to break for the year on June 21.

Pennsylvania: Democrats push to get voter registration bills out of committee | WITF

A group of legislative Democrats are pushing no fewer than twelve bills on voter registration in the House and Senate. They would model expanded voting and voter registration in Pennsylvania after reforms already done in other states. However, Democrats haven’t even been able to get the measures past the first stage of consideration in the GOP-controlled chambers–the House and Senate State Government Committees.

Texas: Answering 5 Questions About Dallas’ Mail-In Ballot Investigation After the Runoffs | Dallas Observer

On Saturday afternoon, a couple of hours before the first results would be released in Dallas’ three City Council runoffs, the specter that had hung over Dallas municipal elections all spring reared its ugly head again. Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole announced that the vast majority of mail-in ballots cast in the runoff elections would be sequestered on election night, potentially putting the results of the three pivotal council contests in limbo until the votes could be verified. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office filed paperwork Thursday to hold back any ballot with which the person voting received assistance until that ballot could be more closely examined.

France: The big question in France’s parliamentary elections: Why did so few people vote? | The Washington Post

Sunday was a good day for French President Emmanuel Macron. Just weeks after his remarkable win in the French presidential election, Macron’s recently established political party took a huge lead in the first round of voting for the country’s legislature, the National Assembly. The Republic on the Move party is projected to win 390 to 430 of the French Parliament’s 577 seats, according to an Ipsos-Sopra analysis. But observers noticed an uncomfortable detail in the electoral figures: Turnout of registered voters was the lowest it has been in any parliamentary election under France’s Fifth Republic. Turnout in the first round of voting for France’s National Assembly was the lowest in the history of the Fifth Republic.

Editorials: Nationalism wins in Kosovo elections | Deutsche Welle

Whether you like or not, the reality in Kosovo is that large parts of the country’s population are frustrated, nationalist and hold radical political views. The results of Sunday’s snap election clearly show the current state of society, where the country’s problems lie and the issues that must urgently be addressed. Almost 60 percent of the electorate did not even cast a ballot. These frustrated citizens no longer believe in the transformative power of democracy and they trust political elites less and less. Anyone who does make the effort to go out and vote always chooses the nationalist, radical option.

Lebanon: Parties agree on electoral law – foreign minister | Reuters

Lebanon’s rival parties reached agreement on Tuesday on an electoral law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said, staving off a political crisis and paving the way for a parliamentary election. The agreement still needs the approval of the cabinet in a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, and will then be sent to parliament. “Today we have reached a political agreement between the political sides,” said Bassil, an ally of President Michel Aoun. It will take at least seven months to prepare for an election, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said.

Papua New Guinea: Police intercept Soldiers with unauthorized election materials | Papua New Guinea Today

Kokopo Police in East New Britain have intercepted three PNG Soldiers who were smuggling unauthorized election materials. They are are being held in police custody in Kokopo, East New Britain Province, allegedly hired by a candidate in New Ireland Province. The three non-commissioned soldiers await the arrival of their superiors from Port Moresby to further interrogate them for their involvement with a candidate from Namatanai. A warrant officer and two corporals were with 19 men and a woman who were on Air Niugini’s PX 204 from Port Moresby to Kavieng via Kokopo about 9.30am on Sunday.