Voting Blogs: EAC Commissioners Divided on Authority Over Proof of Citizenship Documents | Brennan Center for Justice

Officials on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission announced in a federal court filing today that they’re split along partisan lines over whether the panel’s executive director acted within his authority last year when he allowed three states to include documentary proof of citizenship requirements on federal voter registration forms. The disagreement means that the September 2016 injunction against the burdensome registration requirements stills stands. The memo, filed by commissioners in federal district court today, discussed Executive Director Brian Newby’s decision to grant the federal form requests at issue in the case. Two commissioners, Chair Matthew Masterson and Christy McCormick, both Republicans, found that Newby had the authority to do so. One, Thomas Hicks, a Democrat, found that he did not and wrote separately to that effect.

Alabama: Law could allow more people to vote | Associated Press

Alabama might allow more former felons to vote in upcoming elections after lawmakers, for the first time, approved a definitive list of what crimes will cause someone to lose their voting rights. Alabama lawmakers last month gave final approval to legislation that defines a crime of “moral turpitude” that will cause someone to lose their voting rights. The measure, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, is aimed at ending confusion over who can, and can’t vote, because of prior convictions. The new list of 46 types of felonies includes robbery, assault, felony theft and drug trafficking but not offenses such as drug possession.

California: County election officials say hundreds of voters in L.A.’s congressional race haven’t received their mail ballots | Los Angeles Times

With less than three days until the special congressional election in Los Angeles, hundreds of newly registered voters have not received the mail ballots they requested, county election officials say. More than 400 voters who registered as permanent mail voters between May 1 and May 31 have not gotten their ballots to vote, said Aaron Nevarez, a manager for governmental and legislative affairs at the L.A. County registrar’s office.

California: Trump wouldn’t release his tax returns, so lawmakers move to make it mandatory for California’s primary | Los Angeles Times

Legislation to require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to gain a spot on California’s presidential primary ballot won passage in the state Senate on Wednesday, but only after a tense debate that largely centered on President Trump. Senate Bill 149 was approved on a strict party-line vote, 27-13. The bill now moves to the state Assembly, and was one of the last bills debated during a marathon session at the state Capitol to consider bills before a Friday deadline for action. The bill would require presidential candidates to file copies of their income tax returns with state elections officials for the five most recent taxable years. Failure to do so would mean their name wouldn’t appear on California’s presidential primary ballot. The legislation was introduced in December, in the wake of Trump’s refusal to disclose his tax returns during the 2016 campaign. The president has continued to reject calls for the information.

Maine: Lawmakers Debate How to Move Forward With Ranked Choice Voting Law | WABI

State lawmakers have little time to determine how to implement the ranked choice voting law that was passed by voters in November. Following the Maine Supreme Court’s advisory opinion that the law was in conflict with the state constitution, lawmakers have three options moving forward. The law, as it stands, would allow residents to rank their ballot choices from first to last in a system that ensures a candidate wins majority support. “Has anyone ever wondered why we are having so many citizen’s initiatives on ballots these days? It’s because the people of Maine think that they are not being heard by this legislature,” said Rep. Kent Ackley, (I). Some lawmakers support allowing the voting system to proceed in federal elections, as the questions of constitutionality pertain only to elections for governor and state lawmakers. Other legislators hope to amend Maine’s constitution to bring the full law into compliance.

Minnesota: Secretary’s push to replace aging election equipment signed into law | Faribault Daily News

Secretary of State Steve Simon is praising a new law that will help replace Minnesota’s aging election equipment, calling it a “critical and necessary investment” to ensure voting equipment works properly and consistently in precincts all around the state. Replacing aging equipment has been a major priority of Secretary Simon’s since taking office and was signed into law May 30. The bill creates a $7 million grant fund to replace Minnesota’s aging election equipment by 2018. It provides up to a 50 percent match between the state and counties for mandatory equipment and up to a 75 percent match for electronic poll books.

Editorials: Holding off North Carolina’s attempts to block voting | Virginian-Pilot

The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the past 30 days rejected efforts by North Carolina lawmakers to make it harder for African Americans to vote while also packing them into as few districts as possible to diminish their electoral influence. In the latest ruling, announced May 21, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s opinion that North Carolina’s efforts to draw new lines for congressional districts unfairly packed two districts with African American voters and thus limited their ability to influence other political contests. The court agreed that majority-black districts might help the candidates favored by black voters win elections. But it said that North Carolina lawmakers had gone too far by drawing the lines in an effort to dilute the number of African Americans voters in other districts.

Ohio: Congressional Redistricting Reform On The Way In Ohio? | WVXU

There just seems to be something inherently unfair about how Ohio draws its congressional district lines, a process that, in 2011, was controlled by Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly. Historically, it’s never mattered what party was in control of the process – Republicans draw districts that favor their party; Democrats draw lines that favor their party. But this 2011 re-draw of congressional districts in Ohio was a doozy. The Republican legislature drew lines that all but guaranteed that Republicans would hold three-fourths of the state’s congressional districts until at least the year 2022. Under current law, the majority party in the legislature draws the congressional district lines every 10 years after the U.S. Census; and there is not a whole lot the minority can do about it.

Texas: Democrats See New Opportunities in Texas Redistricting Case | Roll Call

A congressional redistricting case could offer Texas Democrats a glimmer of hope for making gains in the Republican-dominated state if a new map takes effect shortly before the 2018 midterm elections. Revised congressional boundaries could create opportunities for Democrats looking to win back the House — but also challenges if they must quickly find formidable candidates in newly competitive races. And if a court redraws the state’s map, the GOP-led state government would lose control of a tool that lawmakers in Texas and across the country have relied on to stay in power. “As usual, it’s an interesting time in Texas politics where we don’t really know what’s going to happen,” said Colin Strother, a Democratic consultant in the Lone Star State.

Cambodia: Opposition makes gains in local elections | Reuters

Cambodia’s opposition made significant gains in local elections against the ruling party of authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday, according to the first results. The election for more than 1,600 communes would not mean a major shift in power, but could be a springboard for next year’s general election, in which Hun Sen aims to extend more than three decades in power in the Southeast Asian country. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) won 11 out of the first 80 communes for which results were declared. In the last local election, the ruling Cambodia National Rescue Party won 97 percent against a divided opposition.

Lebanon: Leaders scramble to ease vote law endorsement | Zawya

Officials scrambled Friday to smooth the path for the endorsement of a new vote law amid fears that sticking points could unravel the agreement reached by the country’s top leaders at Baabda Palace. A series of important meetings were held Friday between senior officials with each of Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri aimed at speeding up the implementation of the agreement reached by President Michel Aoun, Berri and Hariri at their closed talks before an iftar hosted by the president at Baabda Palace Thursday. Sticking points such as the percentage for candidates to win electoral seats in any district, the preferential vote, and the duration of a technical extension of Parliament’s term could block the agreement which calls basically for the adoption of a proportional voting system dividing Lebanon into 15 districts.

Lesotho: Lesotho votes just two years after previous election amid instability | CNBC

People in Lesotho voted in a national election on Saturday just two years after the previous one as the Southern African kingdom struggles with political instability. The nation of 2 million people has been hit by several coups since independence from Britain in 1966 and army troops were on duty until the polls closed at 1500 GMT on Saturday. Election officials expect results to start trickling in early on Sunday. King Letsie III has been head of state of the landlocked country, which is surrounded by South Africa, since independence from Britain in 1996. But political leadership has been volatile in recent years with the last two elections failing to produce a winner with a clear majority.

Malta: Prime Minister Muscat wins second term in snap election | Reuters

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat won a second term in office after calling a snap parliamentary election last month to counter allegations of corruption against his wife and some of his political allies. Muscat’s Labour Party won 55 percent of votes in Saturday’s election, handing it an absolute majority in the 65-seat parliament, according to political sources on both sides involved in the vote tally. The Labour Party had polled about five percentage points ahead of the rival Nationalist Party going into the vote. Nationalist Party chief Simon Busuttil called Muscat and conceded defeat on Sunday morning.

Malta: Election 2017: 92.07% turnout lowest since 1966 | The Malta Independent

Yesterday’s voter turnout of 92.07% was the lowest turnout figure since the 1966 election, although it was only less than one percentage point lower than 2013’s turnout figure of 92.98%. In what can be described as a very long and painstaking night in politics, both the Nationalist and Labour parties have spent hours poring over the voter turnout figures in each electoral district, closely analysing who were those who decided to not cast a vote in yesterday’s general election.

Mexico: Ruling party narrowly fends off leftist in major state election | Reuters

Mexico’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) limped to victory in a key state election on Sunday, according to preliminary projections of results that were quickly challenged by the leftist party beaten into second place. The party, however, was heading for a loss in one state and struggling in another. The putative win in the State of Mexico was a close call for President Enrique Pena Nieto’s PRI, which has governed it for nearly nine decades. It will not end the aspirations of leftists led by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, an early favorite for next year’s presidential race. Despite its apparent victory against a party that was only founded three years ago, the PRI still has to battle widespread anger at corruption and rising violent crime under Pena Nieto as the countdown starts for the July 2018 presidential election.

Nepal: Farmers worried as paddy planting will collide with polls | Republica

On February 20 when the Pushpa Kamal Dahal led government announced local elections after a hiatus of nearly 20 years, the whole nation sprang up in joy. Like many others, locals of Khotang district too could not wait to exercise their voting rights in the polls originally scheduled for May 14. To their disappointment, the government then decided to hold polls in two phases – on May 14 and June 14, with Khotang also falling in the second phase. After severe objection from the Madhes-based parties, the government, on April 23, again postponed the polls date for the second round in an apparent bid to bring the agitating parties on board. According to the latest schedule the polls are now slated for June 28. But locals of Khotang are disappointed with the date as it falls during peak paddy plantation season.

United Kingdom: Should we worry about election hacking? | IT PRO

With less than a week until the UK General Election takes place, attention is turning towards the danger of cyber criminals or state actors hacking into party, governmental or parliamentary systems, or disrupting the voting system itself. With similar attacks hitting both the US and French presidential elections, such concerns are founded in reality — but does that necessarily mean such an attack is likely? The IT Pro team considers the possibility that our democracy is the next area to be disrupted.

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly for May 29 – June 2 2017

During comments at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that “patriotically minded” private Russian hackers could have been responsible for the breach of the nDemocratic National Committee and Clinton campaign e-mail accounts, as well as other attempts to aid the campaign of Donald Trump. Though a reversal of previous Kremlin denials of any Russian involvement in operations against Clinton and the Democrats, Putin continued to deny any state role in the hacking. Asked about the potential of Russian interference in European elections this year, Putin raised the possibility of “free-spirited Russian patriots” who might be inclined to meddle.

Paul Waldman, writing for The Washington Post, observes that the increasingly sharp partisan divide in the country is reflected in the

A group of technology experts has again written to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp voicing concern over the state’s use of paperless touchscreen voting machines in the upcoming special election. A legal effort seeking to require voters’ use of paper ballots for the election was launched last week. Early voting has already begun in Georgia.

Following last week’s ruling by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court that ranked-choice voting violates the state constitution, two bills were introduced in the state house. Democrats took different approaches to resolving the issue, but bipartisan support will be necessary for either bill to pass. On Friday, lawmakers heard from a parade of citizens speaking in support of ranked choice voting.

As part of a federal lawsuit, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has acknowledged that in 2011 Democrats drew the state’s congressional districts with the intention of defeating a Republican incumbent. Current Governor Larry Hogan is supporting calls for the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission. Republicans have fought independent redistricting commissions in Arizona and other states.

The U.S. Supreme Court has told North Carolina’s top court to reconsider a redistricting lawsuit filed by Democrats and allies after the nation’s highest court struck down congressional districts as racial gerrymanders. In the face of repeated defeats in federal court, North Carolina Republican remain undaunted in their effort to consolidate their political dominance. Also this week, Governor Roy Cooper said he would appeal a North Carolina court decision that upheld a Republican-backed law that reduced Cooper’s election oversight authority.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, Ohio’s challenge to a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the state’s aggressive method for purging voters from its registration rolls. Under Ohio law a voter is removed from a registration roll if they have not voted or updated their registration (for example, because they may have moved) over a six-year span. Civil rights advocates contend that such “voter purge” laws are suppressing the right to vote of many thousands of citizens.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new voter ID bill into law. The new law is intended to loosen identification requirements from a 2011 law that a federal judge said was enacted by Republicans to intentionally discriminate against minority voters, who tend to vote for Democrats. Abbott also signed into law a bill that will end straight-party voting, requiring every candidate on state ballots to be chosen individually.

During comments at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that “patriotically minded” private Russian hackers could have been responsible for the breach of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign e-mail accounts, as well as other attempts to aid the campaign of Donald Trump. Though a reversal of previous Kremlin denials of any Russian involvement in operations against Clinton and the Democrats, Putin continued to deny any state role in the hacking. Asked about the potential of Russian interference in European elections this year, Putin raised the possibility of “free-spirited Russian patriots” who might be inclined to meddle.

Paul Waldman, writing for The Washington Post, observes that the increasingly sharp partisan divide in the country is reflected in voting laws. Many States with Democratic majority legislatures have passed laws requiring automatic voter registration, online and same day registration, as well as laws intended to make voting more convenient like in-person early voting and no-excuse absentee voting. By contrast, states with Republican majorities in the state house have passed laws that restrict access to the polls, photo id requirements, longer residency requirements and limiting or prohibiting early voting.

A group of technology experts has again written to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp voicing concern over the state’s use of paperless touchscreen voting machines in the upcoming special election. A legal effort seeking to require voters’ use of paper ballots for the election was launched last week. Early voting has already begun in Georgia.

Following last week’s ruling by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court that ranked-choice voting violates the state constitution, two bills were introduced in the state house. Democrats took different approaches to resolving the issue, but bipartisan support will be necessary for either bill to pass. On Friday, lawmakers heard from a parade of citizens speaking in support of ranked choice voting.

As part of a federal lawsuit, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has acknowledged that in 2011 Democrats drew the state’s congressional districts with the intention of defeating a Republican incumbent. Current Governor Larry Hogan is supporting calls for the creation of a nonpartisan redistricting commission. Republicans have fought independent redistricting commissions in Arizona and other states.

The U.S. Supreme Court has told North Carolina’s top court to reconsider a redistricting lawsuit filed by Democrats and allies after the nation’s highest court struck down congressional districts as racial gerrymanders. In the face of repeated defeats in federal court, North Carolina Republican remain undaunted in their effort to consolidate their political dominance. Also this week, Governor Roy Cooper said he would appeal a North Carolina court decision that upheld a Republican-backed law that reduced Cooper’s election oversight authority.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, Ohio’s challenge to a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the state’s aggressive method for purging voters from its registration rolls. Under Ohio law a voter is removed from a registration roll if they have not voted or updated their registration (for example, because they may have moved) over a six-year span. Civil rights advocates contend that such “voter purge” laws are suppressing the right to vote of many thousands of citizens.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new voter ID bill into law. The new law is intended to loosen identification requirements from a 2011 law that a federal judge said was enacted by Republicans to intentionally discriminate against minority voters, who tend to vote for Democrats. Abbott also signed into law a bill that will end straight-party voting, requiring every candidate on state ballots to be chosen individually.

The likelihood of early elections increased after an agreement was reached between Italy’s four main political parties on a new electoral system. The new plan is modeled on the German version of proportional representation in which a 5 percent threshold must be met for a party to get seats in parliament. Facing the threat of an opposition boycott, the Nepalese government postponed the second phase of local elections by nine days to June 23.

National: Putin says Russian role in election hacking ‘theoretically possible’ | The Guardian

Vladimir Putin has given his broadest hint yet that Russia may have played a role in the hacking of western elections but emphatically denied that his government was involved. Speaking at the St Petersburg economic forum, the Russian president acknowledged that it was “theoretically possible” that “patriotic” Moscow hackers might have interfered in foreign polls. Asked on Thursday if Russia would meddle in Germany’s election later this year, Putin said: “If [hackers] are patriotically minded, they start to make their own contribution to what they believe is the good fight against those who speak badly about Russia. “Is that possible? Theoretically, that’s possible,” he said.

Editorials: On voting rights, we’re becoming two separate and unequal countries | Paul Waldman/The Washington Post

America, as we all know, is a deeply divided nation, split along lines of class and race and culture and politics. And in this most polarized time, the two parties are pulling the places where they dominate further apart, creating a red and blue America that can be profoundly different depending on what side of a state line you stand on. In few areas is this more evident than in the way the parties treat the ballot. Consider the following. Yesterday, the Illinois House passed a bill creating automatic voter registration (AVR) in the state, so that when you get a driver’s license or interact with state agencies in other ways, you’re automatically registered to vote. The Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, vetoed a previous version of the bill, but he may end up having no choice in this blue state but to support it, in which case Illinois would join eight other states (plus the District of Columbia) that have created AVR in recent years.

Maine: Lawmakers hear passionate debate on ranked-choice voting | Portland Press Herald

Supporters and opponents of ranked-choice voting laid out their cases Friday during a sometimes-heated four-hour hearing on a first-in-the-nation election method that the state’s highest court says is unconstitutional. About two dozen people spoke to the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, with most urging members to keep ranked-choice voting as a way to depolarize an increasingly uncivil political landscape. “Ranked-choice voting encourages politicians to reach across lines … to appeal beyond their natural constituents to voters who pick them as a second or third choice,” said Amy Smith, a retired political scientist and the town clerk in Arrowsic. Smith, citing her own academic studies, said plurality voting is often associated with increasingly uncivil and sometimes violent campaigns, in which politicians appeal solely to their own bases, or core constituencies. “The surest way to rule their own base is to demean and disrespect the other side,” she said.

Maryland: Lawsuit forces Maryland Democrats to acknowledge the obvious: Redistricting was motivated by politics | Baltimore Sun

Maryland Democrats drew the state’s convoluted congressional districts with an eye toward ousting a longtime Republican incumbent and replacing him with a Democrat, former Gov. Martin O’Malley has acknowledged as part of a high-profile legal challenge to the maps winding its way through federal court. The acknowledgment that state Democrats were working in 2011 to add a seventh member of their party to the House of Representatives, widely understood at the time but seldom conceded publicly even now, comes as Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is advocating for a nonpartisan redistricting commission, ostensibly to curb partisan gerrymandering.

North Carolina: Rebuked Twice by Supreme Court, North Carolina Republicans Are Unabashed | The New York Times

In Washington, efforts by this state’s Republicans to cement their political dominance have taken a drubbing this month. On May 15, the Supreme Court struck down a North Carolina elections law that a federal appeals court said had been designed “with almost surgical precision” to depress black voter turnout. A week later, the court threw out maps of two congressional districts that it said sought to limit black voters’ clout. And it could get worse: Gerrymandering challenges to other congressional and state legislative districts also are headed for the justices. But if North Carolina Republicans have been chastened in Washington, there is scant evidence of it here in the state capital. Quite the opposite: Hours after the court nullified the elections law, for example, party officials said they would simply write another.

Ohio: Supreme Court to hear case on Ohio voter purges, latest in a string of voting rights cases | USA Today

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear yet another case on voting rights — not so much about who can vote, but who cannot. The justices will hear Ohio’s challenge to a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the state’s aggressive method for purging voters from its registration rolls. The decision to hear the case could signify that some of the Supreme Court’s more conservative justices believe Ohio and other states have a right to purge voters for not voting in several successive elections. Ohio says at least 10 other states have similar processes; opponents say only five do: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Texas: Abbott signs voter ID, end of straight-party voting into law | Austin American-Statesman

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new voter ID bill into law Thursday, loosening identification requirements from a 2011 law that a federal judge said was enacted by Republicans to intentionally discriminate against minority voters, who tend to vote for Democrats. Senate Bill 5 will allow registered voters who lack a photo ID to cast a ballot after showing documents that list their name and address, including a voter registration certificate, utility bill, bank statement, government check or work paycheck. Such voters would have to sign a “declaration of reasonable impediment” stating that they could not acquire a photo ID due to a lack of transportation, lack of a birth certificate, work schedule, disability, illness, family responsibility, or lost or stolen ID.

Italy: As Voting Rules Deal Nears, Italy Moves Toward Early Elections | Bloomberg

The path is beginning to clear for Italians to head back to the polls as the country’s main political parties near a deal on a new electoral law. Italy’s biggest parties are considering a proportional system similar to the German model with a 5 percent cut-off for smaller parties, and lawmakers are due to discuss a first draft of the new law early next month. An agreement would remove any hindrance to snap elections, eliminating the need to wait for scheduled elections in early 2018. “Momentum is building among political leaders and is pushing towards early elections but it will be an uphill battle against the President and parts of the rank-and-file in the parliament,” Giovanni Orsina, a professor of government at Rome’s Luiss-Guido Carli University said in a phone interview.

Nepal: Local elections postponed for a second time after ethnic minority groups threaten boycott | Hindustan Times

The Nepal government on Monday deferred the second phase of elections to local bodies by nine days to June 23 to ensure the participation of agitating Madhes-based parties. According to a cabinet decision, some electoral provisions will be amended speedily in line with the demands of the Madhesi parties so that they can register and get their election symbols. But the government was silent on two key demands of the Madhesi parties — amendments in the new Constitution to make it more Madhes-friendly and inclusive, and increasing the numbers of local government units in the plains known as Terai.

National: Protesters in Washington Demand Independent Russia Inquiry | The New York Times

The March for Truth, the latest in what has become nearly weekly demonstrations of various stripes against the Trump administration, drew a sign-waving crowd to the Washington Monument on Saturday to protest possible collusion between associates of President Trump and Russian officials in the 2016 election. As new revelations have continued to emerge five months into the administration — the latest involving reported efforts by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, to create a secret back channel to Russia — the protest was organized on Twitter under the banner #MarchforTruth. The several dozen demonstrators in Washington said they were demanding a well-staffed, independent commission, removed from the White House’s influence, to investigate the possibility of collusion. They also called for Mr. Trump to release his tax returns, saying the documents could shed light on any connections to Russia.

National: Maybe Private Russian Hackers Meddled in Election, Putin Says | The New York Times

Shifting from his previous blanket denials, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia suggested on Thursday that “patriotically minded” private Russian hackers could have been involved in cyberattacks last year that meddled in the United States presidential election. While Mr. Putin continued to deny any state role in the hacking, his comments, made to reporters in St. Petersburg, Russia, departed from the Kremlin’s previous position: that Russia had played no role whatsoever in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and that, after Donald J. Trump’s victory, the United States had become the victim of anti-Russia hysteria among crestfallen Democrats. Asked about suspicions that Russia might try to interfere in the coming elections in Germany, Mr. Putin raised the possibility of attacks on foreign votes by what he portrayed as free-spirited Russian patriots. Hackers, he said, “are like artists” who choose their targets depending how they feel “when they wake up in the morning.” Any such attacks, he added, could not alter the result of elections in Europe, America or elsewhere.