New York: Attorney General Unveils Sweeping Voting Reform Package | Gotham Gazette

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman unveiled an extensive voting reform package Wednesday that aims to streamline New York’s voter registration system, boost voter participation and increase voter turnout. Standing with elected officials, good government groups, union members, and voting reform advocates outside Federal Hall in Manhattan, Schneiderman released the legislation, called the New York Votes Act. The bill contains provisions to update the state’s voting systems by adding early voting, automatic and same-day voter registration, consolidated primaries, shortened party registration deadlines, increased language access at the polls, online absentee ballots, and more. “Any law that makes it easier to vote is a good law; any law that makes it harder to vote is a bad law,” said Schneiderman, in a statement Wednesday. “New York has long been a bastion of democracy, but our state’s current system of registration and voting is an affront to that legacy.” New York State has seen abysmal voter turnout for years. In 2014, the state ranked 49th of 50 in the country, with just 29 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots in the general election. While other states have tweaked their voting laws to encourage participation, voter turnout in New York has only grown worse, with just 19.7 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots in the 2016 presidential primaries.

North Carolina: Judges Suspend Limit on Governor’s Powers | The New York Times

A three-judge state court panel in North Carolina on Tuesday held up part of a new Republican-backed law that strips important power from the newly elected Democratic governor. The ruling, temporarily halting the requirement that the governor seek legislative approval for his cabinet selections, escalated the partisan tensions that have shaken up the state, and came shortly before a scheduled State Senate hearing on one of Gov. Roy Cooper’s cabinet picks. Mr. Cooper has called the law, which was signed in December in the waning days of his Republican predecessor’s tenure, a politically motivated power grab. “The court is absolutely correct in their decision and should not be intimidated by threats from legislative leaders,” Mr. Cooper said in a statement, in which he urged the state “to put these partisan confirmation games behind us.” Passed in the bitter aftermath of November’s election, the limits on Mr. Cooper’s power prompted protests outside the North Carolina Capitol, where Republicans hold majorities in both chambers.

Ohio: Bill would automatically register Ohioans to vote | Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ohioans would be automatically registered to vote when renewing their driver’s license, signing up for public assistance or turning 18, under a bill introduced in the Ohio House. Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Kent Democrat, said voter registration should be easy and that automatically enrolling people would encourage higher voter participation. “There are endless ways to use voter registration rules to deter and confuse voters, and we need to take away this weapon of voter oppression,” Clyde said during a Thursday press conference. Under House Bill 14, people would be automatically registered to vote if they’ve received veterans’ or disability services or public assistance through the Department of Job and Family Services and when they get a driver’s license or state ID card. Public and private school students would be registered when they turn 18.

Ohio: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections chooses Tenex as electronic poll book vendor | Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cuyahoga County voters will check in on electronic poll books beginning in November, using equipment from Tenex Software Solutions. The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections unanimously approved the purchase on Tuesday, following a recommendation by director Pat McDonald and his staff at its meeting last month. The board authorized officials to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the company, state and county, McDonald said in an email. The board will buy 1,450 electronic poll books at a cost of $1.7 million. The state is paying 85 percent of the cost. Electronic poll books will replace the large, paper rosters of registered voters at each voting location. The county plans to phase in the software during primary and special elections before launching them countywide in November.

Utah: Election headaches lead lawmakers to consider measures for relief | The Salt Lake Tribune

Memories of long lines, spoiled ballots and disgruntled voters were on the minds of lawmakers Wednesday when a House panel advanced two bills aimed at improving Utah’s elections. The House Government Operations Committee signed off on a proposal to create a statewide presidential primary and a bill requiring county clerks to pay the postage cost of mail-in ballots and to notify voters if their ballots are invalid. A third bill, making voter registration automatically linked to driver-license applications unless a person opts out, was held in committee, with lawmakers indicating that changes were needed before advancing to the House floor. Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, sponsored the presidential primary bill, arguing it would make it easier for Utahns to vote for a presidential candidate while avoiding the confusion and disorganization that occurred at the party caucuses last year. “Political parties should be in the business of trying to win elections,” Arent said, “not run them.” A presidential primary would cost $3 million, she said, with the bill requesting $750,000 each year. “We can do it in pieces or we can do it in one chunk,” Arent said. “But I hope that we can get there.”

Virginia: After complaints about Virginia voter registration, cuts for election software upgrades | Daily Press

Over the course of a five-and-a-half hour hearing in the run-up to last year’s presidential election, Republican legislators lamented problems with the state’s electronic voter registration system. Days later, right at the deadline to register to vote, that system crashed. Funding to upgrade the system was cut Thursday in the Senate by some of the same legislators who keyed in on the issue last fall. State Sen. Jill Vogel co-chaired that October meeting, and she also heads the budget subcommittee that removed nearly $4 million in new funding Gov. Terry McAuliffe had proposed for the Virginia Department of Elections. She said on the Senate floor Thursday that some of that money will likely come back into the budget as the House and Senate negotiate a final spending bill.

France: Defense Council fearful over Russian hacking in presidential election | The Times of Israel

The French presidency’s Defense Council’s next meeting will deal with the threat of Russian hacking in France’s upcoming presidential elections this Spring, Politico quoted the French weekly Le Canard Enchainé as reporting Wednesday. The meeting, which will include French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, as well as the ministers for defense, interior, foreign affairs, finance and the budget, will focus on Russian attempts to sway the election using disinformation campaigns and trolling on social media, as well as hacking attacks. French intelligence officials believe that Russia is working behind the scenes to support presidential candidate Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front party, according to the Le Canard Enchainé report cited by Politico.

Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan prepares for predictable presidential poll | World Bulletin

Some nine candidates will be on the ballot for a presidential poll in reclusive Turkmenistan on Sunday, but only one — incumbent autocrat Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov — stands a chance of winning. Among the 59-year-old strongman’s competitors are subordinate regional officials, the director of a government-owned oil refinery and a representative of the Central Asian country’s state agribusiness complex. These other candidates will probably share “the three to six percent of the vote” not amassed by Berdymukhamedov, predicts Annette Bohr, an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia programme at the Chatham House think tank. Recent footage from state television saw Berdymukhamedov in relaxed form during a low key pre-election campaign that officially ends on Saturday.

National: GOP lawmakers around the US push for restrictions on voting | The Republic

As President Donald Trump hurls unfounded allegations of colossal fraud in last fall’s election, lawmakers in at least 20 mostly Republican-led states are pushing to make it harder to register or to vote. Efforts are underway in places such as Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Nebraska and Indiana to adopt or tighten requirements that voters show photo ID at the polls. There is a move in Iowa and New Hampshire to eliminate Election Day registration. New Hampshire may also make it difficult for college students to vote. And Texas could shorten the early voting period by several days. Supporters say the measures are necessary to combat voter fraud and increase public confidence in elections. But research has shown that in-person fraud at the polls is extremely rare, and critics of these restrictions warn that they will hurt mostly poor people, minorities and students — all of whom tend to vote Democratic — as well as the elderly. They fear, too, that the U.S. Justice Department, under newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions, will do little to intervene to protect voters.

National: Trump official: Election infrastructure should be protected | The Hill

President Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security indicated Tuesday that he would keep in place the Obama administration’s designation of election infrastructure as “critical.” “I believe we should help all of the states to make sure their systems are protected, so I would argue we should keep that in place,” Secretary John Kelly said during testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee in response to questioning from Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.). The Obama administration designated the U.S. election infrastructure as “critical” in January, just two weeks before Trump’s inauguration. The move extended to storage facilities, polling places and centralized vote tabulation locations supporting the election process, as well as information and communications technology such as voter registration databases and voting machines. The decision resulted in these systems being subject to federal protections.

National: New administration will keep ‘critical’ label on election systems | Cyberscoop

The new Homeland Security Secretary said Tuesday his department will not overturn the last-minute decision by previous leadership to designate the U.S. election system as “critical national infrastructure,” despite calls from some state officials to reverse the designation. “I would argue that yes, we should keep that in place,” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee during his first time testifying as a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Last month, just days before leaving office, outgoing leadership at DHS blindsided state and local officials by designating the election systems as “critical national infrastructure.” At the stroke of a pen, the property of 8,000 election jurisdictions across the country was added to a special DHS list of 16 “sectors” of vital U.S. national industry, ranging from banking and telephones to water and sewage systems.

National: Study Examines Modernizing Voter Registration | WAMC

There has been plenty of talk in recent weeks, much of it emanating from the White House, about voter fraud. Now, a new study released by the Brennan Center For Justice, entitled “Election Integrity: A Pro-Voter Agenda,” confirms in-person voter fraud is a rarity. The paper argues that the integrity of elections can be strengthened without discouraging eligible voters. On January 25th, President Donald Trump Tweeted “I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD…” Trump claimed millions voted illegally in the election: “You have people registered in two states. They’re registered in New York and New Jersey, they vote twice.” Without any evidence, the president has also claimed “3-5 million illegal votes” cost him a popular vote victory. This all comes after years of battles in the states over voting laws that some say make it harder for many citizens to participate in elections. Most people expect American elections are secure and free of misconduct, but some are doubtful. “I will say this. Of those votes cast, none of ’em come to me. None of ’em come to me,” moaned Trump.

Voting Blogs: The Pence Commission on Voting Fraud | More Soft Money Hard Law

President Trump’s arrangement for an inquiry into election voting fraud is fatally compromised by political self-interest. Before the November election, he insisted that voter fraud might cost him the victory. After he had won, he decided that it robbed him of success in the popular vote. He put the number of illegal voters at 3 to 5 million, all of it allegedly committed at his expense. And having taken this position, he is not only looking back. He is already a candidate for reelection, and this project would serve his purpose of reducing the risk of another popular vote disappointment. So he will establish a presidential commission to look into voting fraud, and he intends to appoint as its chair his Vice President, who was his presidential running mate in the last election and will very probably be on the ticket again 2020. This process has lacked credibility from the start, and if it were only a matter of appreciating the nature and limitations of this political project, then not much more attention would need to be paid to it. But in what happens next, once this Pence Commission is formed and launched, the long-term cost to bipartisanship in voting reform could prove high.

Alabama: Governor expected to pick ‘Big Luther’ Strange to replace Sessions | Politico

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is strongly leaning toward picking the state’s attorney general to replace U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions after his confirmation Wednesday to become United States Attorney General, according to three Republican operatives with direct knowledge of the plans. The operatives all cautioned, however, that the mercurial governor hasn’t formally picked Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange to replace Sessions, and Bentley could change his mind. … One possible advantage of appointing Strange, this operative said, is that Bentley — who has been implicated in a tawdry sex scandal and was under an impeachment investigation by the state legislature — gets to appoint a new attorney general who might be less inclined to prosecute him.

Arizona: Tucson asks U.S. Supreme Court not to overturn its unique council-election system | Arizona Daily Star

Lawyers for Tucson are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to spurn a bid by Republican interests to kill the city’s unique system of electing council members. In new legal briefs, City Attorney Mike Rankin said there’s nothing inherently unconstitutional about having the six council members nominated by ward but then having a citywide general election. He said it ensures that each area of Tucson is represented and yet requires council members to pay attention to voters in the other five wards. “The city’s election system allows both ward and citywide electorates a voice, and also provides benefits to both,” he argued. In a ruling last year, the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the practice.

Maine: High court will hear case on ranked choice voting law | The Portland Press Herald

Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court has agreed to review a set of questions being posed to it by the Maine Senate over a citizen-enacted law that would change the state to a ranked-choice voting system. The state Senate requested the court review the ballot question law last week, suggesting it presents a so-called “solemn occasion” as the legality and even the constitutionality of the new law could throw state government into post-election chaos. In a bipartisan 24-10 vote, the Senate, as provided in the state’s constitution, asked the court to review the law.

Montana: Republican leaders oppose cheaper mail-ballot election to replace Zinke | Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Top Republican leaders earlier this week asked state Rep. Geraldine Custer not to introduce a bill to make the coming special election by mail ballot only. Montana’s expecting a special election this spring to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, who’s been nominated for secretary of the interior. Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians are already preparing campaigns. A major factor in all elections is voter turnout, and election processes affect it. Custer, a Republican, told the Chronicle that Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen, Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann and the state’s highest election official Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, oppose a mail ballot-only election. “The Democrats used to oppose it, but now the parties have flipped,” Custer said. “Personally, I’d rather get beat in an election with good turnout than win an election with low turnout.”

Nevada: Assembly bill would address potential voter registration fraud | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske told an Assembly panel on Tuesday that there’s no evidence of voter fraud in the last election, but there have been cases of voter registration fraud. Some problems came from third-party voter registration drives, and the secretary of state has requested legislation intended to address some of those shortcomings. Cegavske made her comments during a presentation Tuesday before a joint meeting of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Committee on Corrections, Parole, and Probation. “We don’t have any evidence that anybody illegally voted,” Cegavske told the panel.

Nevada: Lawmaker wants to get rid of partisan primary elections | Reno Gazette-Journal

A state senator introduced a bill on Tuesday that would open Nevada’s primaries from a partisan process to a blanket-style ballot. State Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Minden, introduced Senate Bill 103 that would vastly change primary elections in Nevada. Currently, primaries are a partisan process with only Republicans voting on a Republican ballot and only Democrats voting on a Democratic ballot. The bill would alter that system, allowing anyone on the ballot – including minor party candidates – with the top two vote-getters moving on to the general election. Anyone regardless of political party would be able to vote in the primaries as well.

New Hampshire: Proposed election law changes called unfair to students | Union Leader

Proposed changes to New Hampshire election law could unfairly disenfranchise college students, seasonal residents, university professors, military personnel, and all sorts of transient workers, according to opponents of the legislation who dominated testimony on several election-related bills before the House Election Law Committee. State Rep. David Bates, R-Windham, sponsor of three measures debated Tuesday, said his bills are not aimed at any particular segment of the population. “All I’m trying to do is ensure that only residents of our state are voting in New Hampshire,” he said. “My objective is to return to what our state laws always used to be, which required a person to be a resident in order to vote here.”

Ohio: Lawmakers want to avoid special election costs | Dayton Daily News

A special election with just one candidate on the ballot cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some state lawmakers are trying to prevent that from ever happening again. Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, hopes passage of a new state law will avoid what he called the future waste of taxpayer money on special elections that involve just one candidate on the ballot. The proposal, which Koehler co-sponsored, arose last year when Democratic 8th District candidate Corey Foister dropped out of the race. A special election was required to pick a replacement, but only one Democrat, Steven Fought, stepped forward to run. Clark County Board of Elections Director Jason Baker said the resulting Sept. 13 special election was mandated by law, and local boards had no choice.

Canada: Petition to reverse Liberals’ electoral reform U-turn gains momentum | CBC

The man behind an online petition calling for the Liberal government to recommit to its electoral reform pledge says early signs of a flip-flop from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prompted him to launch the initiative months before last Wednesday’s announcement. Inspiring the petition was Justin Trudeau’s interview in Le Devoir on Oct. 19. “In that interview, he signalled electoral reform might not happen because, he said, support for it had waned,” petitioner Jonathan Cassels told CBC News. Cassels, who works in banking, said he often engages in political discussions via social media. But when he expressed concern over the prime minister’s words online, Cassels said he received dozens of responses.

Ecuador: Presidential hopeful promises to evict Julian Assange from embassy | The Guardian

Julian Assange will be given a month’s notice to leave the Ecuadorian embassy if the country’s main opposition candidate wins the presidency in next week’s election. In an interview with the Guardian, Guillermo Lasso, of the rightwing Creo-Suma alliance, said it was time for the WikiLeaks founder to move on because his asylum was expensive and no longer justified. “The Ecuadorian people have been paying a cost that we should not have to bear,” he said during an interview in Quito. “We will cordially ask Señor Assange to leave within 30 days of assuming a mandate.” That possibility is still some way off. In the most recent poll, Lasso is seven points behind the ruling party candidate Lenín Moreno, but the former banker has been gaining ground ahead of the first round of voting on 19 February and is widely tipped to force a runoff. Even if there is no change in power in Quito, however, it seems increasingly likely that Assange will soon be moving from the cramped embassy in Knightsbridge that has been his refuge for more than four and a half years.

France: Presidency to hold top-level meeting on Russian hacking: report | Politico

The French presidency will hold a top-level meeting soon to address concerns about possible Russian hacking, trolling and disinformation in the upcoming presidential election, the French weekly Le Canard Enchainé reported Wednesday. “The level of concern is such that a meeting of the defense council at the Élysée has been scheduled on this subject,” the newspaper wrote in its Wednesday edition. Le Canard Enchainé, which is known for its mix of investigative reporting and satirical writing, recently published allegations that François Fillon, the conservative candidate for president, hired his wife for a non-existent job. Penelope Fillon was allegedly paid more than €900,000 for work she didn’t carry out.

Russia: Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader found guilty of embezzlement | The Guardian

The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been found guilty at a retrial of embezzlement and given a five-year suspended prison sentence, putting his proposed presidential run in 2018 in doubt. Election rules say candidates cannot have felony convictions, but the anti-corruption activist vowed to appeal and said he would continue his campaign “no matter what happens in court”. “What we saw was a telegram from the Kremlin saying that they consider me, my team and those people whose views I express too dangerous to allow us into the electoral race,” Navalny said in the courtroom after the verdict. “This verdict will be overturned. I have the full right under the constitution to participate in elections, and I will do so. I will continue to represent the interests of people who want Russia to be a normal, honest, not corrupt country.”

Turkmenistan: Human Rights Watch says upcoming presidential election in Turkmenistan lacks rights protections | Times of Central Asia

Turkmenistan’s appalling human rights record undermines the possibility of a free and fair presidential election on February 12, 2017, Human Rights Watch said on February 7. The election climate in Turkmenistan denies its citizens the ability to choose their president freely or enjoy freedom of expression or access to information. “Turkmenistan has never held a free and fair election and this one is no exception,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “Genuine elections are impossible where authorities maintain tight control over all aspects of public life, violating basic rights relating to freedom of the media, expression, and civil society.” The incumbent president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, 59, who has served for two terms, is running for re-election as one of nine candidates. Constitutional changes in September 2016, widely seen as allowing him to remain president for life, removed restrictions on the president’s age, and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.

National: House committee votes to eliminate Election Assistance Commission | The Guardian

A Republican-led House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote. The party-line vote came less than two days after the US president vowed to set up a White House commission helmed by the vice-president, Mike Pence, to pursue his accusations of election fraud. … The bill was opposed by committee Democrats and voting rights groups, who argued that the federal agency played a vital role in protecting elections from hacking and other types of interference. “At a time when the vast majority of the country’s voting machines are outdated and in need of replacement, and after an election in which foreign criminals already tried to hack state voter registration systems, eliminating the EAC poses a risky and irresponsible threat to our election infrastructure,” said Wendy Weiser, the democracy program director at the Brennan Center for Justice.

National: Republicans vote to scrap Election Assistance Commission | International Business Times

In spite of President Donald Trump’s unverified claims that millions of people voted illegally in the US election, a House committee has voted to eliminate an independent election commission. The Republican-led House Administration Committee voted 6-3 along party lines to scrap the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) on Tuesday (7 February) – the only federal body aimed at ensuring voting machines cannot be hacked. Though Trump’s assertions have been widely discredited, public advocacy groups have raised serious concerns about the decision because of the body’s importance. It was created in the aftermath of the 2000 election and the Florida recount controversy which decided the race between George W Bush and Al Gore. Since then, the EAC has grown to even greater significance as many of the country’s voting machines have become outdated, with the Brennan Center for Justice saying the situation is an “impending crisis”. They were one of 38 bodies to denounce the vote to scrap the EAC, stating it puts America’s democracy at risk.

National: As Trump fears fraud, GOP votes to kill Election Assistance Commission | Associated Press

A House committee voted on Tuesday to eliminate an independent election commission charged with helping states improve their voting systems as President Donald Trump erroneously claims widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote. The party-line vote came less than two days after Trump vowed to set up a White House commission helmed by Vice President Mike Pence to pursue his accusations of election fraud. “We’re going to look at it very, very carefully,” Trump said of voter fraud in an interview with Fox News that aired Sunday. “It has to do with the registration, and when you look at the registration and you see dead people that have voted.” Reports that Trump told congressional leaders in a meeting last month that 3 to 5 million ballots were cast illegally during the 2016 race were met with discomfort on Capitol Hill. While top Republicans have refused to disavow his charges of election fraud, they haven’t pushed for action on the issue, which remains a low priority for congressional leadership.

National: Former Democratic Senate candidate launches voting rights group | The Hill

Jason Kander, the Missouri Democrat who narrowly lost a Senate bid last year, is jumping back into national politics with a new organization aimed at protecting voting rights. The former Missouri secretary of state’s new group, “Let America Vote,” aims to win “the public debate over voter suppression” as Democrats continue to coalesce around voting rights in the wake of calls by President Trump for an investigation into his claim, presented without evidence, that millions of illegal votes were cast in 2016. “Voting in our country has never been easy, and unfortunately it’s never been guaranteed for everyone,” Kander said Tuesday in a statement pointing to the progress made by “brave civil rights leaders. Today, that progress is in danger as laws targeting low-income and minority voters continue popping up across the country. Let America Vote will make the case for voting rights by exposing the real motivations of those who favor voter suppression laws.”