National: House panel probes DHS scans of state election tech | FCW

The leader of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants a fuller accounting from the Department of Homeland Security about complaints of the agency “rattling of doorknobs” on the state of Georgia’s network firewall. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) sent letters on Jan. 11 to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and DHS Inspector General John Roth asking about “unauthorized scans” and “unsuccessful attempts to penetrate” the Georgia Secretary of State’s firewall from last February into November’s election season. The letters to Roth and Johnson were released publicly on Jan. 17. The correspondence was spurred by Georgia’s Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s repeated letters to DHS asking the agency to provide more information on what he said were attempts to penetrate his agency’s firewall from “a DHS-registered IP address.” He said the attempts dated back to last February.

National: With morale in tatters, Federal Election Commission eyes changes | Center for Public Integrity

Federal Election Commission leaders — dogged by abysmal staff morale and a top manager improperly obtaining employees’ confidential critiques — are considering changes to how the agency operates in a bid to restore staff trust. Chief among them: the creation of a new “ombudsman” office dedicated to investigating and resolving staff complaints and internal conflicts, according to an internal proposal written by the agency’s chairman and obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. As written, the proposal further calls for formal, anonymous reviews of agency managers by subordinates, as well as better manager training.

Editorials: Russia Is Already Winning | Molly McKew/Politico

The whirlwind of Russian spy news over the past few weeks has forced Americans to confront questions that previously would only have seemed possible in fiction: Did a foreign power influence the American elections? Do the Russians really have dirt on the incoming president, or a hidden relationship with him? Did the Kremlin want Donald Trump to win? Why? We aren’t even certain that these are the right questions, and the data points in this tangled story—the meetings, the scandalous dossier, the tweets—don’t make much sense on their own. Together, though, they reveal a methodical campaign that closely resembles what we’ve seen Russia try elsewhere before. For the past eight years, since just after Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August 2008, I have worked in nations around the Russian periphery, and watched the Kremlin systematically chip away at former captive nations that are viewed as threats to the Kremlin’s internal narrative of control and its corrosive worldview. What Russia has attempted in the United States is not an isolated action but one case study in the evolving, expansive hybrid war being waged by the Kremlin against the West. What’s happening isn’t about hacking, or cybersecurity, or fake news. It isn’t about BuzzFeed, or everyone’s new favorite buzzword, kompromat. In the most important sense, it isn’t really even about Donald Trump. The leaders in the Kremlin don’t care about any individual American winning or losing. They care about America as a nation losing.

Maryland: Aide to Maryland lawmaker fabricated article on fraudulent votes for Clinton | The Washington Post

Republican legislative aide in Maryland who was behind a fake news site that accused Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of election-rigging was fired Wednesday. Del. David E. Vogt III (R-Frederick) said he terminated Cameron Harris “on the spot” after learning that he was the ­mastermind behind Christian­TimesNewspaper.com and its fabricated Sept. 30 article, which reported that there were tens of thousands of “fraudulent Clinton votes found” in an Ohio ­warehouse. Harris, who graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina in May, had worked for the Republican delegate since June. He did not return a call for comment, but he apologized in a Twitter post to “those disappointed by my actions” and called for a “larger dialogue about how Americans approach the media” and other issues.

Nebraska: All-mail voting proposed | Lincoln Journal Star

Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha on Wednesday introduced legislation designed to increase voter participation by authorizing all counties to conduct all elections by mail. Wayne, a freshman lawmaker, said he intends to amend his bill (LB619) to couple mail elections with establishment of a few voting centers to retain the option of voting in-person for Nebraskans who wish to participate in the traditional manner of casting their ballots at polling sites. Mail balloting would increase access to voter participation by “people without transportation, disabled people, those who are working three jobs, workers who need easier access to the right to vote,” Wayne said.

New Hampshire: Forty bills in New Hampshire Legislature target voting | Union Leader

As many as 40 bills to change New Hampshire election law will soon be working their way through the Legislature, but only a few are likely to find their way to the desk of a newly elected governor who has made election reform a top priority. Many election-related bills have been proposed by State Rep. David Bates, R-Windham. “Most of my changes focus on facilitating better enforcement of our existing voter requirements and do not add any new requirement in order for people to vote,” he said. Bates will be among those attending a private meeting at the State House scheduled for today with House Speaker Shawn Jasper, other legislative leaders and key committee chairs to craft a coordinated strategy for the election law agenda.

New Mexico: Democrats propose amendment calling for automatic voter registration | The Santa Fe New Mexican

All eligible voters in New Mexico should be registered, and the government should do it for them automatically, three Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday in announcing a proposal to enshrine new election law in the state constitution. The legislators said their proposal for automatic voter registration would reduce costs and create a more accurate system. Another likely benefit would be more people voting and holding government accountable for policy decisions, said Rep. Liz Thomson, one of the measure’s sponsors. “The more voices we hear, the better we can represent them,” Thomson said. She is teaming on the proposed constitutional amendment with Rep. Javier Martinez and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto. All three sponsors are from Albuquerque.

Texas: Federal judge denies delay in Pasadena voting rights order | Houston Chronicle

Hours after candidates began filing paperwork to run for city office, a federal judge Wednesday denied a request by Pasadena officials to delay her order that the city election be run under an 2011 election scheme to protect the rights of Latino voters. Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal in Houston said Pasadena should conduct its upcoming May elections based on eight single-member districts, throwing out the six single-member and two at-large districts that the judge ruled had diluted the clout of Hispanics.

Virginia: Legislative panel keeps photo ID requirement | The Virginian-Pilot

A legislative subcommittee killed an attempt Tuesday to repeal Virginia’s requirement that voters show a photo ID at the polls. A subcommittee of the House Privileges and Elections Committee voted to shelve HB 1904, which would have eliminated the mandate that registered Virginia voters present a driver’s license, passport or other government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Republicans say the photo ID requirement prevents voter fraud. But the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Del. Steve Heretick of Portsmouth, said it prevents people from voting. “We can’t point to any incidence of voter fraud that any registrar, that anyone on the Board of Elections, that anyone can point to,” Heretick said.

The Gambia: President’s Term Running Out, Gambia Shudders as He Refuses to Quit | The New York Times

President Yahya Jammeh once predicted that his rule could last a billion years. Now, the fate of his nation is hanging on one more anxiety-filled day. After acknowledging defeat in an election last month, Mr. Jammeh abruptly changed his mind, refusing to step aside for the inauguration of the new president scheduled for Thursday and threatening to drag the nation into a bloody standoff. Mr. Jammeh, who has long been criticized for human rights abuses and grandiose claims like being able to cure AIDS with little more than prayer and a banana, has insisted on a do-over election. He declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, warning the nation not to engage in any “acts of disobedience.” West African nations are preparing to enter the country and force Mr. Jammeh’s ouster if he does not leave. In response, Mr. Jammeh has threatened that his own military is prepared to defend Gambia’s sovereignty.

Indonesia: Ballots for Jakarta election have been printed: Election commission | The Jakarta Post

The Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) said on Thursday the ballot papers for the Feb. 15 gubernatorial election had finished being printed. The total number of ballot papers printed reached 7,292,619, which included 7,108,589 ballots for the fixed-voters list (DPT), an additional 2.5 percent of ballots for each polling station and an extra 2,000 for reserve. KPU Jakarta head Sumarno said that the ballots, which were printed by PT Adi Perkasa, in Makassar, South Sulawesi, a company which earlier won the printing tender, were still on their way via sea freight to KPU Jakarta.

Philippines: Senate probe on ‘Comeleak’ set | The Philippine Star

The Senate committee on electoral reforms is set to conduct an inquiry into the hacking of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) database, an incident considered the worst recorded breach on a government-held personal database in the world. In her Senate Resolution 260, electoral reforms committee chair Sen. Leila de Lima said there is a need to find the extent of damage the hacking caused to the voters’ database and the integrity of ordinary people’s personal information. “There is no denying that the Comelec data breach is unacceptable. Those responsible should be fully prosecuted and punished, whether they are foreign or domestic actors,” De Lima said, stressing that the breach is everyone’s problem. “Online lawlessness should be nipped at its bud,” she added.

Poland: Opposition slams ruling party’s electoral reform plan | Associated Press

Changes to an electoral law proposed by Poland’s conservative ruling party are aimed at helping it win local elections next year, opposition leaders said Tuesday. The head of the ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is Poland’s most powerful politician, says he wants new regulations to limit to two the number of terms served by city and town mayors as well as local community heads. He argues it would give opportunities to new candidates and says some local leaders have been in office for decades. “That helps neither democracy nor the good social relations in the given country or town,” Kaczynski has said. “In brief — there is need for change.” But the leaders of two liberal opposition parties said the proposal aims to help Law and Justice take control of local governments, on top of controlling the parliament, the national government and the presidency.

Turkey: Parliament approves more constitutional reform articles | Reuters

Turkey’s parliament approved the first seven articles in a second round of voting overnight on a constitutional bill that will extend President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, keeping the reform on course for a spring referendum. The two largest opposition parties in parliament say the 18-article bill, which could enable Erdogan to rule until 2029, will fuel authoritarianism in the NATO member and European Union candidate country. The ruling AK Party, backed by the nationalist MHP, says it will bring the strong executive leadership needed to prevent a return to the fragile coalition governments of the past.

Kansas: Election officials threw out thousands of ballots | McClatchy

Kansas election officials threw out thousands of uncounted provisional ballots cast in November, mostly because the state had no record that those residents were registered voters. Some local election officials are now voicing concerns about instances of lost registrations from people who filled out applications on Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s online site and at motor vehicle offices, but whose names never showed up on poll books, voter rolls or even a list of people whose applications weren’t complete. Some voters had date-stamped, computer screenshots showing they successfully completed their voter registration. Kobach’s office said in an emailed statement there was a technical problem with the computer system that handles voter registrations for the motor vehicle department, and that it is the office’s understanding that the problem was corrected within a few days of its discovery in October. Kobach’s office then instructed county election officers to accept any paper printout of an applicant’s computer screen as proof that the person timely completed the registration form.

New York: U.S. Justice Department Threatens to Sue New York State Over Voting Violations | The New York Times

The Justice Department has notified New York State officials that it may sue the state over what it says are widespread failures to comply with a provision of federal voter registration law that requires state drivers’ license applications to double as applications for voter registration, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times. In the letter, dated Jan. 6, the Justice Department lays out how the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles violates the law. The lapses “deprive numerous New Yorkers of important voter registration opportunities required under federal law,” according to the letter, which was signed by Vanita Gupta, the head of the civil rights division at the Justice Department. At D.M.V. offices throughout the state, a Justice Department investigation found, drivers’ license applications do not also serve as voter registration forms unless applicants request it, and the option is sometimes closed even to those who make a request.

Texas: Pasadena back under federal oversight through 2023 for Latino voting rights violations | Houston Chronicle

A judge Monday ordered federal oversight of the city of Pasadena’s election system for the next 6½ years, the latest development in a landmark voting rights case that has highlighted contentious racial politics in the blue-collar suburb and beyond. In a final judgment issued Monday, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the court would keep jurisdiction over Pasadena until June 30, 2023, to ensure “the city cannot immediately return to a map and plan that thwarts Latinos on the cusp of an electoral majority.” The ruling – issued on a federal holiday recognizing the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., whose civil rights crusade led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – said the city must seek “preclearance” from the U.S. attorney general or from the court before changing its election system.

The Gambia: Supreme Court judge declines to rule on president’s election challenge | Reuters

The top judge in Gambia’s Supreme Court declined on Monday to rule on President Yahya Jammeh’s petition to overturn his election defeat, as many Gambians wait nervously to see how the veteran leader will react to his rival’s planned inauguration this week. Jammeh initially conceded defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow following the Dec. 1 poll but later changed his mind, drawing widespread condemnation and the threat of a military intervention by regional neighbours. Whether Gambia succeeds in swearing in Barrow is viewed as a test for democracy in West Africa, a region which is seeking to draw a line under a history of coups and autocratic rule.

United Kingdom: Northern Ireland assembly elections announced | The Guardian

Elections to a new Northern Ireland assembly will take place on 2 March, James Brokenshire has announced. The Northern Ireland secretary was forced to call the poll after 5pm on Monday when it became clear there would be no 11th-hour deal to bring the Democratic Unionist party and Sinn Féin together to save power sharing in the region. Brokenshire was obliged by law to declare an election date after the deadline this evening, drawning a curtain over nearly a decade of cross-community coalitions between unionists and nationalists. The present assembly will sit until 26 January, when it will be dissolved. The new election takes place just 10 months after the previous one, which resulted in a joint Sinn Féin-Democratic Unionist party government. The devolved administration fell after a row over a bungled green energy scheme and the Democratic Unionist first minister’s refusal to temporarily stand down from her post.

National: Senate Panel to Probe Links Between Russia, Political Campaigns | Roll Call

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s inquiry into Russian intelligence operations against the United States will investigate any possible links between Russia and American political campaigns, the panel said Friday. The bipartisan investigation will also include a review of the American intelligence agencies’ assessment of what they say was Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including cyberattacks and other so-called active measures. But the committee’s statement Friday evening saying that it would also look into counterintelligence concerns stemming from the Kremlin’s interference, including “any intelligence regarding links between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns,” marked a public shift for the panel.

National: Feinstein: Russia’s interference affected outcome of election | The Hill

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday that she believes Russia’s attempt to interfere in the United States presidential election had an impact on the ultimate outcome. “I think that, and I think the FBI, in the October surprise — I call it an October surprise, of announcing a subsequent investigation [into Hillary Clinton’s private email server], did have an impact,” Feinstein told NBC’s Meet the Press. “And I believe the Clinton people believe it did, too. They were polling and they were up, and all of that diminished.” Democrats have blasted FBI Director James Comey’s letter to lawmakers just before the election that said the FBI had obtained additional information potentially relevant to the investigation.

Editorials: For King, the right to vote was sacred | Donna Brazile/CNN

Every third Monday in January we gather as Americans to commemorate the values and beliefs — as well as the ultimate sacrifice — of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His tireless advocacy for civil rights, equal protection under the law, labor rights, and for the ultimate realization of our essential creed that we are “one nation, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is taught in every school in America, and is now enshrined in a memorial on the National Mall. Dr. King believed so strongly not only in these values, but also in the moral imperative to heed the “fierce urgency of now.” He knew that in the face of injustice no moral man or woman can stay silent — and he paid for it with his life. He was a “drum major for justice” He inspired us — not just with his eloquent sermons, rich in purpose; or his speeches, inspiring and provocative — but he challenged us with his dream, his daring imagination: to see an America where all of God’s children would be equal; all of God’s children would have a seat at the table. Dr. King, along with other men and women of his generation did not just see the barriers. They believed in the opportunities that could be realized if we could just move beyond racial inequality and injustice. He truly believed that we had to “take the first step in faith, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Just take the first step. I’ve written and spoken about Dr. King many times, but this year, one area of his crusade seems particularly worthy of remembrance: the fight for the ballot.

Kansas: Few cases, many questions characterize Kobach’s war on voter fraud | The Topeka Capital-Journal

Randall Kilian simply wanted to keep pot away from his retirement home. Kilian, who lived most of his life in Kansas, purchased a second home in Douglas County, Colo., for when he decided to retire from his work in geology. In 2012, when Colorado proposed Amendment 64 legalizing marijuana, Kilian wanted to take a stand. When he received his ballot, he voted against Amendment 64, but he didn’t vote for any elected officials or other issues. Kilian’s stance on marijuana in Colorado has thrust him into the national spotlight. Because he had also voted in Kansas that year, he was flagged for voter fraud by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office. Kilian was unaware he had committed a crime. “I’ve been through a lot,” Kilian said. “I hate that I’ve been through this. Like I said, I’ve got a squeaky-clean record. Not so much as a parking ticket. And, you know, I hate to have my name slandered all over the state and nation because of it.” The Ellis County, Kan., sheriff and county attorney questioned Kilian in 2012 and agreed he hadn’t intentionally broken the law. They decided not to charge him. But in 2013, the Legislature passed a law that transferred the power to prosecute voter fraud from county attorneys’ offices to the secretary of state. In January 2013, Kilian was notified that he was being indicted for voter fraud by the state.

Texas: In Texas, a Test of Whether the Voting Rights Act Still Has Teeth | The New York Times

Within days of the Supreme Court striking down the heart of the Voting Rights Act in June 2013, the mayor of this working-class industrial city set in motion a contentious change to the local election system that critics said was aimed at protecting white control of the City Council in the face of rapid growth in the city’s Hispanic population. It set off a furor, which was only inflamed when at a subsequent redistricting hearing, the mayor, Johnny Isbell, brought a gun. At another meeting, he ordered police officers to remove a council member for violating a three-minute speaking limit. Asked by SCOTUSblog why he was pursuing the change, Mr. Isbell replied, “Because the Justice Department can no longer tell us what to do.” But just after the new year, a federal judge ordered the Justice Department to do precisely that — making Pasadena the first municipality in the country ordered by a court to submit, against its wishes, to federal approval of its electoral system since the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision.

Virginia: Republican group makes record $5 million bet on Virginia governor’s race | The Washington Post

The Republican Governors Association just wrote a $5 million check — the largest single political donation in Virginia’s history — with the goal of putting a Republican in the governor’s mansion. The whopping contribution suggests Republicans like their odds in the commonwealth, one of just two states to hold governor’s races this year. But the structure of the donation would allow the RGA to take the money back if that outlook changes. “We could end up spending none of it,” RGA spokesman Jon Thompson said. Virginia has a popular Democratic governor, but Gov. Terry McAuliffe is banned by the state’s constitution from serving back-to-back terms. Four Republicans and two Democrats are running to succeed him.

The Gambia: President-elect arrives in Senegal after talks fail | Reuters

Gambia’s President-elect Adama Barrow has left the country for neighboring Senegal, a coalition member and local media said on Sunday, a day after West African leaders failed to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to step aside. Barrow, a former real estate agent, won a Dec. 1 election in the former British colony by a slim margin. Long-ruling Jammeh conceded defeat but then changed his mind, plunging one of West Africa’s tourist hot spots into crisis and dimming hopes for democracy in a region accustomed to coups and autocratic rule. Barrow, backed by the West and the African Union, is due to be inaugurated on Jan. 19, although Jammeh is seeking to block this pending a Supreme Court ruling on his legal challenge to poll results. “He (Barrow) is in Dakar. He will be back for the inauguration and we are mobilizing the whole country for that,” said Isatou Toure, a member of Barrow’s coalition.

India: Election Commission to Decide Fate of ‘Cycle’ Symbol | News 18

The Election Commission is expected to announce on Monday its decision on the demand for ‘cycle’ symbol by the two warring factions of the Samajwadi Party. The EC, after hearing both the sides on Friday, had reserved its verdict on the issue. Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav have been asserting their respective claims over the party’s election symbol ‘cycle’.

Turkey: Parliament votes in favour of constitutional reform in first round | Reuters

Turkey’s parliament has voted in favour in a first round ballot on a constitutional bill that will extend President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, which opposition politicians say could put the country at risk of growing authoritarianism. The assembly approved the final 18th article of the package late on Sunday and according to parliament regulations will now take a two-day break from the talks before a second round of voting during which any changes to the articles will be debated.

National: DHS Adds Elections Machines, Systems to Critical Infrastructure List | eWeek

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated the nation’s election technology and systems as critical infrastructure, giving state election officials access to technical and policy aid from the agency. The move, announced Jan. 6, makes the election infrastructure in the United States part of the government-facilities critical infrastructure sector, one of the 16 sectors deemed crucial by the U.S. government. Other sectors include health care, energy and the defense industrial base. While some states have reportedly opposed the designation, the DHS assured election officials that states would still have full oversight and responsibility for running elections. … Election-security groups have long called for the infrastructure to be designated critical. Verified Voting, a group of voting experts, pushed for election systems to be deemed critical since 2013, Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, told eWEEK in an e-mail.“Voting systems should receive at least as much attention and care as other critical infrastructure systems do,” Smith said.