Georgia’s top court has upheld a state law that requires voters to show photo identification before they cast ballots. The Georgia Supreme Court’s 6-1 decision Monday is the latest court ruling to conclude that the rules are constitutional. The decision found the 2006 law was a “minimal, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory restriction.” Georgia attorneys said the…
Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s excuse that a busy schedule and new marriage caused him to give the wrong address at a polling place could be a feasible defense to voter fraud and other criminal allegations he now faces, a legal expert said Friday. “It may not be a defense to the claim that…
Lake County officials will stay with the tradition of neighborhood polling places in the May 3 primary despite a new law promising savings and voter convenience. Fewer than half the municipal offices on the ballot are being contested by two or more candidates in 18 cities and towns. Highland has no contested races and will…
Maine on Friday moved one step closer to passing a law requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls. A legislative panel voted 6-6 along party lines to recommend LD 199 to the Legislature. Rep. Micheal Willette, R-Presque Isle, was absent, but he has until Tuesday to vote. Willette is expected to vote with…
Overseas military voters now will have more time to vote in special elections after the Senate and Assembly unanimously passed a bill extending the time between the announcement of a special election and the special election itself. Current law provides 30 to 40 days between the calling of a special election and Election Day. That…
The state of Tennessee is supposed to move to using only paper ballots by the time voters head to the polls in 2012. But some lawmakers are looking to stop that, saying that communities just can’t afford to make the switch. The Tennessee Voter Confidence Act has already been delayed once, but it could be…
Legislation that would for the first time require Texans to show a photo ID to vote was approved by a House committee on Monday and sent to the full House, where it is expected to easily pass. The voter ID bill, which already has been approved by the Senate, was approved by the House Select…
Disappointing Reversal on Transparency and Security for Washington Elections | Verified Voting Blog A bill aimed at reducing restriction to voting for military and other overseas voters passed the Washington State Senate by a 47-1 vote on Friday. Senate Bill 5171 contains many provisions that will certainly make voting easier for Washington citizens living overseas…
CT: Election panel urges reforms after Bridgeport election woes – Connecticut Post Former Mayor Nicholas Panuzio, first elected in 1971, said he’s tried to keep up with technological advances and other changes as he’s gotten older. All he wants is for the city registrars’ office to do the same. “With all of the things, and…
AL: Alabama legislative committees pass bills to cap increases in education spending, require photo ID at the polls and guarantee secret union ballots | al.com House Bill 19 by Rep. Kerry Rich, R-Albertville, which with some exceptions would require voters to show photo identification at the polls. Photo identification could include an Alabama driver’s license,…
CO: Saguache County election fraud case goes to a grand jury | Colorado Independent A major dispute over a flawed election in south-central Colorado is going to a state grand jury. Subpoenas are being handed down to officials in Saguache County, where the incumbent county clerk and county commissioner initially lost on Nov. 2 only…
CO: Voters to weigh in on ranked voting | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan A question on the April 5 municipal ballot asks whether the city should change its long-standing system for conducting City Council elections – as in whoever gets the most votes wins – to the process known as ranked voting, or instant-runoff election.…
CO: Saguache County’s election problems have residents crying foul – The Denver Post As she shooed people out of the Saguache County courthouse in the wee hours of election night 2010, Clerk and Recorder Melinda Myers struggled to hold back tears. Unofficial tallies showed Myers losing to Republican challenger Carla Gomez, 1,101 to 1,116. Meanwhile,…
CA: Grand jury debunks reports of local voter fraud – Bakersfield.com Many instances of voter fraud alleged in recent years have “morphed from facts and allegations to urban legend” and the biggest instances of the problem locally happened 20-plus years ago, according to a Kern County grand jury report released Thursday. Jurors investigated the local…
A bill to strip college students of the right to vote conforms with the Founding Fathers’ view of domicile, its lone sponsor argued Thursday. Rep. Gregory Sorg, R-Easton, said he merely wants to return residency for voting to where you came from and not where you’re attending school. “This doesn’t take away the right to…
A bill that would require Missouri to show a state, federal, or military picture ID when voting moved to the house Friday after passage in the state senate the day before. The bill would amend the state’s constitution to change those requirements. Republican Senator Bill Stouffer of Marshall sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 2. “Our right…
The visually impaired in Assam will literally feel their right to franchise with their fingers, with the Election Commission arranging for Braille-inscribed electronic voting machines for this year’s Assembly elections. Earlier, the visually challenged voters used to cast their votes guided by an escort to the press the right button on the EVM. But this…
More than 20,000 people have already given their votes electronically in e-voting that started on Independence Day and continues until March 2 at 20:00. The electronic votes are not necessarily the “final answer” – the voter can change the vote simply by re-voting, with the last recorded vote being the one of record.
Colorado Elections Director Judd Choate has proclaimed “great faith” in the results of two dubious political races in south-central Colorado and says two of his staffers were on hand to help with its “retabulation.” “On the fifth of November, we sent down a couple of people to work on their retabulation, and we had two…
There were no comments while Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett presented a brief overview of his job — until he began talking about elections. After his speech Thursday in front of the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland, a member said the voting machines used in Tennessee do not have a recorded paper trail and could…
During the legislative luncheon at the Colorado Press Association convention Friday, Secretary of State Scott Gessler told the Center Post-Dispatch that he will be weighing in soon on the problems with the Nov. 2 Saguache election. The SOS oversight of the election began under previous Secretary of State Bernie Buescher, now counsel for the State…
Many instances of voter fraud alleged in recent years have “morphed from facts and allegations to urban legend” and the biggest instances of the problem locally happened 20-plus years ago, according to a Kern County grand jury report released Thursday. Jurors investigated the local voting system, according to the report, after receiving a letter last…
Two years ago, the Supreme Court looked over a cliff and decided not to jump. The question was whether a core section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as renewed by Congress in 2006 for another 25 years, was constitutional. A majority opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. strongly suggested that it…
Lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would prohibit Mainers who cast votes by absentee ballot from asking for a do-over simply because they changed their minds. The issue of when and how voters could request a new absentee ballot arose in the final days of last fall’s gubernatorial race.
In a Feb. 15 letter to election volunteers, Saguache County Clerk Melinda Myers postponed testing for the M650 that could destroy any remaining information about the Nov. 2, 2010 election. Denver attorney Rob Maguire, representing Aspen voting integrity activist Marilyn Marks in a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) suit filed Feb. 11, asked Myers and…
The City Council this week broached ditching so-called “emergency ballots” for last minute voters in favor of beefing up absentee vote-by-mail allowances, but stopped short of making any changes for the April 5 election. Glendale voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot up to seven days before the election, but after that deadline they can fill…
CA: Voting rules remain vague [“Emergency Abesentee”] – Glendale News-Press The City Council this week broached ditching so-called “emergency ballots” for last minute voters in favor of beefing up absentee vote-by-mail allowances, but stopped short of making any changes for the April 5 election. Glendale voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot up to seven days…
AL: Chapman Releases Legislative Wish List | ABC 32 WNCF TV Secretary of State Beth Chapman released her legislative wish list today highlighting her top two priorities: military voting and photo voter identification. Chapman is continuing her fight to expedite military voting in Alabama and has a proven electronic system used successfully by another state’s…
AL: Sec. of State Releases Legislative “Wish List” | ABC 32 WNCF TV The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC). The bill preserves the Electoral College, while assuring that every vote is equal and that every voter will…
In a move meant to lure boycotting opposition senators back to Wisconsin, the Republican leader of the state Senate threatened Monday to force a vote soon on a bill that is abhorred by Democrats: requiring people to show an ID at the polls. The push on the photo ID bill by Senate Majority Leader Scott…