Early voting kicked off Saturday for city elections, and turnout appears to be strong. The big draw, of course, is the Las Vegas mayor’s race, which is pitting two women against each other for the city’s top job. It represents a turning point for Las Vegas, ending Oscar Goodman’s twelve year reign as mayor.Voter turnout…
Legislation that would shorten the state’s early voting period and change requirements for casting provisional ballots passed the Ohio House May 18 following more than two hours of contentious debate. The final vote on House Bill 194 was a party-line 53-39, with Democrats opposing. The legislation next heads to the Ohio Senate for further consideration. Rep.…
One of my most important responsibilities as your secretary of state is preserving the integrity of the voting process in Florida while increasing access to the ballot box. The right to vote is one of the most obvious symbols of our nation’s freedom. Americans must have confidence in the electoral process we use to choose…
A few college students we talked to at UW-Eau Claire say they haven’t heard much about the Voter ID Bill, but they say at face value, it sounds like a good idea. “I think it’s probably a good thing, to at least show that you are who you say you are instead of having someone…
The Minnesota House gave final approval to a bill requiring voters to show photo IDs at the polls Saturday afternoon, sending it to Gov. Mark Dayton’s desk. The bill passed 74-58 on a largely party line vote over the objections of DFL lawmakers, who said the bill will hinder some groups from voting. The vote was…
With music pumping, Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law Wednesday a bill requiring S.C. voters to show a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, to cast a ballot. Currently, voters only must show a voter registration card, which does not have a photo. “If you can show a picture to buy Sudafed, if you can…
Perfect beach weather may have kept crowds from the polls Saturday — but not so political candidates, who made their final pitches to voters across Miami-Dade County before Tuesday’s special election. …With early voting canceled Sunday, the contenders for Miami-Dade mayor, two county commission posts and a Florida House seat on Saturday tried to fit…
A Miami-Dade judge on Friday backed the county elections department’s decision to cancel a day of early voting for Tuesday’s special election. Circuit Judge Barbara Areces dismissed a lawsuit filed by county mayoral candidate Marcelo Llorente, who argued the elections department acted unconstitutionally when it did away with early voting scheduled for Sunday. Lester Sola, the…
A recanvass of votes cast in Tuesday’s Republican primary election for secretary of state between Bill Johnson and Hilda Legg will be held May 26. Legg, a consultant former executive director of the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, requested the recanvass by county boards of election in the closest race of Tuesday’s primary. Johnson,…
As presidential candidates increase their efforts to canvass support from first-time voters, lawmakers from across party lines are mulling whether to amend the law to lower the legal voting age to 18 years. However, some academics cast doubt on the idea, saying that lowering the legal voting age would require a constitutional amendment.
One of the largest elections in the city’s recent history could have played a part in slow elections results coming from Port Arthur on May 14, city officials said. The city of Port Arthur’s election night performance has been a source of concern for some, and prompted city officials to issue a statement of explanation.…
Former GOP House Speaker and current presidential candidate Newt Gingrich walked back his support for poll tests Friday, just a day after reiterating support for making young Americans pass an American history test in order to gain voting rights. In a brief interview at a campaign stop, ThinkProgress asked Gingrich about his comments the day…
The state Senate gave final legislative approval to a bill that would require Wisconsin voters to show photo identification during a ragged session Thursday, clearing the way for Gov. Scott Walker to sign the measure into law next week. Assembly Republicans passed the measure in a late-night session last week. Republicans who control the Senate…
Update: : Supreme Court Recount Done in Waukesha County | Today’s TMJ4 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Weather, Sports, WTMJ | Local News. More than six weeks after the election, Waukesha County is nearing the end of its recount in the supreme court race.
But opponents believe the measure will suppress voter turnout. An estimated 178,000 voters in South Carolina don’t have a driver’s license. Those voters will be able to get state-issued ID cards for free. However, in the middle of a budget crisis in South Carolina, there is no money to pay for it. “So it could be…
A Republican legislative aide is under investigation for possible vote fraud after she cast her ballot in the November election in Onalaska although she lives in Madison. La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said he has forwarded the report from the Onalaska Police Department to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to see if…
If it weren’t so grotesquely un-American, you’d almost want to congratulate them for the audacity and efficiency of the attack. Governor Scott and the anti-civil liberties State Legislature have achieved an astonishing voter suppression trifecta. With just one bill, they made it harder to register to vote, harder to cast your vote, and harder to…
Whatever happens Tuesday when voters are to pick Miami-Dade’s next mayor and two commissioners — plus various proposed county charter changes — will you be able to say that your choices were considered because you voted? Too few registered voters can say that today. Yet they will be the first to gripe about the winners…
In state after Republican-controlled state (now more than two-thirds of all states), there’s a tactical imperative high on the legislative agenda. No, it’s not job creation; it is, in fact, more along the lines of empire creation. That lofty ideal of the “permanent Republican majority” is again enjoying a chilling resurgence. Under the guise of…
According to the La Crosse County Clerk, new voter ID regulations could mean more paperwork, training and cost for La Crosse County. County Clerk Ginny Dankmeyer said municipalities will have to pay more for extra poll workers, there would be new voter ID training required for county clerks and additional paperwork for provisional ballots.
Wisconsin: Senate passes Wisconsin voter ID bill, sends to Walker | Wisconsin Law Journal The state Senate gave final legislative approval to a bill that would require Wisconsin voters to show photo identification during a ragged session Thursday, clearing the way for Gov. Scott Walker to sign the measure into law next week. Assembly Republicans…
Arizona’s elections director said she inadvertently gave an incorrect timetable to the organizers of a drive to recall controversial Senate President Russell Pearce, forcing a change in strategy in the historic recall effort. Elections Director Amy Bjelland said she initially told recall organizer Randy Parraz that if he filed his signatures by May 25, there…
It looks as if the Sept. 13 special election to replace former GOP Rep. Dean Heller won’t be the flash mob of candidates that Republicans had feared. In a decision that stunned the Democratic Party and buoyed the GOP, a district judge Thursday overruled Secretary of State Ross Miller’s May 5 decision to allow any…
Computer connections were restored to all 131 branch offices of the Michigan Secretary of State this afternoon after a broken fiber link interrupted services. Officials cautioned it would take time to address the backlog created by the outage. According to the SOS, the break occurred on Wednesday on a mainframe computer essential to branch office…
Over the past week, several issues have dominated the voting news. The coordinated effort to establish restrictive voter identification requirements in state election codes and limiting early voting periods continued in spite of fierce opposition, with bills reaching governor’s desks in Florida, Texas, Wisconsin and South Carolina. All face legal challenges and the Department of Justice…
Hundreds of unregistered Montgomery County residents may have been allowed to cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election, the county’s chief election official said Wednesday. And as Voter Services Director Joseph Passarella described it, that decision, made by a low-level staffer, eventually morphed into an unwritten policy that mistakenly added more than 3,000 people to…
In just under three weeks since its launch, nearly half a million families in five states across Venezuela have answered the national government’s call to register for its massive new public housing program which seeks to build two million new homes by the year 2017. The program, called Grand Mission “Housing Venezuela”, is the Chavez…
Paper ballots cast by New York City voters last year violated a technical but mandatory part of state election law, the city Board of Elections learned this week, but board officials dismissed the revelation as a “non-issue.” A provision of state election law requires that names of candidates on the ballot “shall be printed in…
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conceded Thursday in the special election race for a vacant Southern California congressional seat, handing a surprising second-place finish to little-known Republican Craig Huey. Huey, a wealthy advertising executive who spent $500,000 out of his own pocket, will face Democratic Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn in a July 12 runoff.…
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday laid the blame for political unrest and instability at the doorstep of leaders who subverted their countries’ constitutions to extend their stay in office. “I have witnessed from across Africa, the determination of citizens to exercise their democratic rights. Everywhere people are given the vote, they treasure it.…