Nearly one out of four Marylanders who have tried to register to vote at a Motor Vehicle Administration office in the past four years has not been added to the voter rolls, according to state records obtained by The Sun. Though some of these tens of thousands of would-be voters have undoubtedly found alternative methods…
CO: Photo ID voting requirement passes House – KDVR After a long argument on the House floor, Republicans were able to pass a bill that would require a photo ID in order to vote on an initial voice vote. House Bill 1003, sponsored by Reps. Ken Summer of Lakewood and Libby Szabo of Arvada, argued…
CO: Information indicates SOS played major role in escalating Saguache election snafu – Center Post Dispatch Over the past several weeks, many things have come to light that point directly to the Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) and their failure to enforce their own rules as the cause of Saguache County’s November election upheaval. In…
CA: Bill would let Californians register online to vote – San Jose Mercury News Californians would be able to register online to vote under a bill introduced Wednesday by state Sen. Leland Yee. Some states already offer online registration but California has put it off, awaiting implementation of a “VoteCal” statewide online database system now…
CA: Debra Bowen enters race to succeed congresswoman Jane Harman – latimes.com California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Tuesday jumped into the race to succeed retiring Rep. Jane Harman of Venice, setting up what is expected to be a lively contest between two prominent Democratic women for the largely coastal congressional district. “This was…
CA: Mail-only balloting possible for county – SignOnSanDiego.com Elections in San Diego County could be conducted entirely by mail under legislation introduced Monday by state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego. All-mail balloting would save local governments millions of dollars and increase voter participation, according to the senator. The legislation, SB 304, would create a five-year…
Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Elections Chairman Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., introduced legislation to eliminate the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and save taxpayers approximately $14 million dollars a year. “The Election Assistance Commission is a prime example of an unnecessary government organization developed with good intentions that has outlived its usefulness. By eliminating the…
A proposed requirement that Iowans show a photo identification in order to vote would be expensive, would pinch voter turnout — and is unnecessary, several county election officials said Monday. “We already have a very secure elections process. It doesn’t seem to make good sense in tough economic times to increase the costs and make…
A Montgomery official who has headed the county’s emerging election center since its inception has accepted a job with the federal court system, but his absence is not expected to affect the two upcoming city elections. Trey Granger has been director of the Montgomery Election Center since the office was created in 2005, but he…
Iowa’s professional association of county election officials (according to the Des Moines Register, its membership is about 60% Republican and 40% Democratic) has voted to register in opposition to photo ID legislation. In Texas, a state legislative race in which the vast majority of ballots were cast on unrecountable machines nears resolution; an official recount…
Around the nation, the photo ID debate rages on. St. Paul, Minnesota begins a voter education effort following the City Council’s approval of new rules for instant runoff voting. The Colorado Legislature is considering legislation to establish a uniform vote by mail system in state elections, and the Massachusetts House orders a new election for…
GA: Saturday requirement removed from early-voting bill for local elections | ajc.com A revised early-voting bill would shorten the voting period to 21 days, but it would not require polls to be open on Saturdays if no state or federal candidates are on the ballot. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mark Hamilton, R-Cumming, removed the Saturday…
CA: Secretary of State Debra Bowen eyeing Harman’s congressional seat – Capitol Alert Secretary of State Debra Bowen is considering running for the congressional seat expected to be vacated by Democratic Rep. Jane Harman. “She is very, very seriously considering running for Congress,” Bowen campaign consultant Steve Barkan said. “It’s brand new news, and so…
CA: Bill would return California’s 2012 presidential primary to June – Los Angeles Times For years, Sacramento lawmakers worked to give California voters a bigger say in national politics by scheduling the state’s presidential primary as early as they could. The series of moves culminated in 2008 with a Feb. 5 vote, the earliest in…
Photo ID legislation leads election news coverage, today’s highlights being a hearing before a Minnesota House panel, and a Colorado House committee’s vote in favor of a photo ID bill. Bangladesh’s government has announced its intention to adopt electronic voting for future elections. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. CO: Voter ID…
The Photo ID debate shows no sign of cooling in TX, WI, and NC. In SC, the state Election Commission’s investigation concludes that Colleton County ballot discrepancies resulted from human error. In Montana, vote by mail legislation suffers an unexpected reversal, and in WV lawmakers seem likely to advance the gubernatorial primary to May 14.…
The Texas Senate has enacted photo ID legislation; the bill now moves to the state House. Palm Beach County, FL looks to use modem reporting of ballot-scanner results. Interantionally, the use of EVMs is expanding in India’s Uttar Pradesh state. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. FL: Broward commissioners scrap plans for…
AR: New ballots are not ready | The Baxter Bulletin Touch-screen voting may be on hold in Baxter County and other counties across the state. Baxter County Clerk Rhonda Porter said the county has not received electronic ballots from the state for its iVotronics touch-screen voting machines. Porter said early voting begins Monday and paper…
CA: Court says Legislature can’t write own ballot language – Capitol Alert A state appeals court today ruled that the state Legislature did not have authority to draft its own ballot language for the successful high-speed rail bond measure lawmakers placed on the 2008 ballot. State law tasks the state attorney general with writing an…
ID: 45 households in Asotin County get wrong ballot for upcoming election | KLEW CBS 3 – Lewiston, ID The Asotin County Auditor’s Office has sent out new ballots to fix a registration issue. It all started when a concerned citizen brought in his tax information. “His voter registration card showed that he was registered…
AK: APNewsBreak: Election review could be done soon: AP Alaska | adn.com An internal review of the 2010 election that left Alaska’s historic U.S. Senate race in limbo for nearly two months should be mostly completed within 45 days, Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said Tuesday. Read More CO: Ranked Voting Method Request for Written…
There is an extremely high volume of coverage both of the Illinois Supreme Court’s order regarding the Chicago mayoral election and of the photo ID debate in the Texas Senate. We have included a small sampling of articles on each of these issue. Photo ID legislation appears to be a fait accompli in Texas, though…
A busy couple of days for voting news. In Texas, the State Senate will debate photo ID legislation tomorrow, and is expected to pass the bill. An citizen audit of South Carolina election results raises questions about ballot reconciliation. A bill to allow all Indiana counties to utilize vote centers is expected to pass, and…
In Texas, the Governor has declared that photo ID legislation is an emergency measure, and the Texas Senate has made an exception to a two-thirds-majority requirement for a photo ID bill. Colorado’s Secretary of State has announced that he will engage in a private law practice during his term. Photo ID legislation is being sharply…
AZ: Arizona court urged to decide redistricting issue – KSWT A former Arizona Supreme Court justice is urging current justices to decide whether three nominees for the state redistricting commission are eligible for appointment. Former Justice Stanley Feldman represents supporters nominee Paul Bender, an Arizona State University law professor. Republican legislative leaders say Bender is…
Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh wants to keep all 143 of the District’s voting precincts open for the special election to elect an at-large council member scheduled for April, and she’s asked the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to dig deep on cost-saving opportunities. Like the rest of city government, the elections board is…
In the Carolinas, Texas, Wisconsin, photo ID legislation is on the move. In New York State, a robust debate continues over the conduct of recounts and routine audits. Another Canadian jurisdictions is eyeing online voting in 20011, and in India, computer technologist Hari Prasad has been released on bail. All this and more in today’s…
There are several noteworthy Internet voting stories today. In Canada, two opinion pieces demonstrate increasing knowledge of the challenges of Internet voting: the Vancouver Sun acknowledges the security and ballot-anonymity issues and concludes that both Internet voting and the successful resolution of its challenges are inevitable; in the Globe and Mail, journalist Robert Matas notes…
In British Columbia, Canada, some Liberal Party officials are calling for online voting in upcoming provincial elections. Iowa’s new Secretary of State is urging the Governor-elect to rescind an order restoring the voting rights of ex-felons, and Ohio’s new Secretary of State took office today. And in Washington State, sponsors expect passage of a bill…
In Washington, a bill to allow all military and overseas voters to vote by fax or e-mail cleared cleared its House committee. Connecticut watchdog groups have issued a report on the Bridgeport recount, and Vancouver looks at Internet voting for November municipal elections. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. CT: Bridgeport Recount…