North Carolina: The right to vote cannot be voted on | Technician Online

North Carolina’s state government functioned in a state of confusion last summer. Each Monday, Raleigh hosted hundreds of protestors, ranging from those who challenged the proposed, heavily restrictive anti-abortion laws and cuts to teacher salaries as waves of conservative influence exerted itself on the floor of the North Carolina House. While the aforementioned proposals drew attention from major news sources, the legislation that most propelled North Carolina into the national spotlight and the center of heavy media debate was its reintroduction of a new set of regulations relating to voting rights. Suddenly, North Carolina was facing the passage of a bill that, at its surface, seemed to be an attempt to bolster a strong image of voter security. In actuality, voter fraud rarely happens. A study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that between 2002 and 2005, only 40 voters were indicted for voter fraud. North Carolina’s voter ID bill represents the failings of a conservative state legislation in regards to not only the right to vote but also the interests of those in minority status.

Ohio: Republicans aren’t done changing voting laws yet | WKSU

After the 2012 election, questions arose about voter fraud, accessibility and accountability. So, as expected, in 2013, many bills that addressed those issues were introduced in the Ohio Legislature. But as Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports, few of them actually made it into law. To understand the genesis of many election bills introduced this year, you need to remember what happened in 2012. A contentious law that restricted times and ways Ohioans could vote was under the threat of repeal by voters. So the Republican-run Legislature took matters into its own hands and in an unusual way, repealed that law.

Wyoming: Conservative group battles Federal Election Commission over election law | Star-Tribune

A conservative Wyoming-based group hopes to battle the Federal Election Commission in the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to change federal election laws. The group, Free Speech, has been hammering at the agency in Wyoming’s federal district and federal appeals courts since the 2012 presidential election. Both courts dismissed the case, prompting Free Speech to petition the Supreme Court on Monday. Free Speech hopes a Supreme Court decision will limit an alleged burden on political speech while giving small-money, politically active groups a chance to compete with big-name, high-dollar political groups in Washington. The FEC claims it doesn’t impede the First Amendment or grassroots groups. “The members of Free Speech are three men from Wyoming who aspire to share their views about ranching, President Obama and other topics with the public on a shoestring budget,” Free Speech’s legal counsel wrote in the petition. “Federal election law made this task impossible by requiring compliance with regulatory standards that even the FEC could not articulate and, when applied, impose a regulatory regime far too burdensome for most citizens.”

Bangladesh: Violence mars poll in Bangladesh | The Hindu

The much-awaited Bangladeshi election was marred by violence as the eight hours-long voting closed at 4 p.m. with reports of low turnout because of panic among voters and widespread boycott by the opposition. Polling ended in all 147 parliamentary constituencies across the country amid attacks by the anti-poll activists which forced the Election Commission to suspend voting in at least 161 centres. A total of 390 candidates from the ruling Awami League-led alliance contested in the 147 constituencies where there was no formidable opposition. Interestingly, in many constituencies, the ruling party candidates faced formidable party rebels. The total number of polling centres was 18,208. The situation worsened from Friday night when opposition activists set on fire as many as 100 polling centres over 49 centres on Saturday and Sunday. They also beat a presiding officer to death in Thakurgaon .

India: Tie-up of Election Commission and Google sparks security fears | Hindustan Times

Indian software professionals have expressed their worry at the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) project to register fresh voters by using the services of software behemoth Google. Warning that data collected by Google has been frequently used by American spy agency, the NSA, this consortium of professionals has sent a letter to the chief election commissioner pointing out this “security breach. At a time when the world is concerned about the security of sensitive data, a Constitutional authority like the ECI is making it readily available to a foreign company,” Jiten Jain from the consortium. “The government has said that no sensitive data of Indians will ever be shared with foreign servers. But the ECI will hand over names, IP addresses, cell phone numbers, residential addresses and all other kinds of sensitive data to Google for this project. This should have been cleared by Indian security agencies first.”

India: Google-Election Commission tie-up talks alarm cyber group | Business Standard

Cyber security professionals have raised an alarm about the potential danger to national security, even before the Election Commission (EC) formally announces a tie-up with US technology giant Google. The poll panel has been in talks with the internet firm’s India office to allow voters to easily search for their details on electoral lists. The company had also proposed to build an application for voters to get road directions to polling stations through Google Maps. It was also reported last week that Google would help EC manage online voter registrations before the Lok Sabha elections this year. “This will lead to a goldmine of intelligence,” said Jiten Jain, a member of the Indian Infosec Consortium (IIC), an association of professionals working in the field of cyber security and are critics of the proposed relationship between EC and Google. He added that citizens will have to provide their email addresses and mobile numbers for new voter registrations. That, combined with Google’s other technology offerings like email, search, maps, etc could aid in building profiles of voters which could invade their privacy.

Nepal: Court gives voters right to reject candidates | Business Standard

In a landmark judgement, Nepal’s Supreme Court has given voters the right to cast negative votes during the parliamentary or local elections. The court in the verdict yesterday also directed the government and the Election Commission to introduce laws to this effect so the voters can reject candidates, weeks after India introduced “None of the above” option. A joint bench of justices Kalyan Shrestha and Prakash Wasti issued the order responding to a writ petition filed by two advocates. With this decision, the ballot papers in coming elections will now have a separate option “none of the above” to allow voters to cast negative votes. The court in its order has asked the Prime Minister’s Office, Election Commission and the Ministry of Law Justice, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs (MoLJPA) to ensure negative voting provision in the electoral process.

Thailand: Thai February Polls to Go Ahead Despite Protests | VoA News

Thailand’s election commission says it will go ahead with nationwide elections on February 2, despite worries over security as anti-government protestors vow to shut-down Bangkok starting January 13. The commission held talks with key political parties, including the governing Pheu Thai Party and opposition Democrat Party, which is boycotting the vote, before it made its announcement. While anti-government protesters succeeded in largely blocking candidates registering in southern provinces, a stronghold of the opposition Democrat Party, elsewhere a total of 642 candidates applied to contest the poll. The election commission says the 123 candidates who were unable to register because they were blocked by protesters must petition the Supreme Court to be included on the ballots.

North Carolina: Groups challenging redistricting seek delay of 2014 primary elections | News Observer

Groups unhappy with the North Carolina legislative and congressional districts drawn three years ago by the General Assembly have asked the state Supreme Court to delay this year’s primary elections. In a request for a temporary injunction filed with the state’s highest court Thursday, attorneys for Democratic voters and civil rights groups argued that it would be disruptive to proceed with the established election cycle while constitutional questions linger about the 2011 maps. The filing period for candidates seeking seats in the state General Assembly and the U.S. House is set to open Feb. 10 and close on Feb. 28. Primary elections are set for May 6. “Sufficient time may not now exist for this Court to properly resolve the significant federal and state constitutional questions presented in this appeal,” the request for relief states.

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly | December 30 2013 – January 5 2014

Bangladesh-ap-260Infosecurity examines cyber threats to the Federal Election Commission and other government agencies and Joshua Spivak reviews recall elections that took place in 2013. Steve Rosenthal considers the critical role of Secretaries of State in preserving voting rights and Andrew Cohen addresses the fallacy of the cough syrup ID argument. Florida is about to begin another controversial voter purge and Kansas’s proof-of-citizenship law is facing court and legislative challenges. The Global Post surveys elections that lie ahead in 2014 and voters in Bangladesh go to the polls amid violent protests and boycotts.

National: Federal Election Commission Faces Serious Security Failings, with Few Plans to Remedy | Infosecurity

Just weeks after the US Department of Energy was shown to have disregarded proper cybersecurity measures, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is facing what an independent auditor calls “significant deficiencies” when it comes to its cybersecurity posture. The FEC in fact remained at “high risk for future network intrusions”. However, the electoral watchdog said that it has little interest in implementing even minimum IT security controls. The audit firm, Leon Snead & Co., said in the audit that the FEC’s IT security program does not meet government-wide best practice minimum requirements in many areas. That includes carrying out due diligence information as part of an organization-wide risk management program, using the risk management tools and techniques to implement and maintain modern safeguards and countermeasures, and ensuring the necessary resilience to support ongoing federal responsibilities, critical infrastructure applications and continuity of government in the event of an attack.

National: Power to the people? Remembering the year in recalls. | The Week

After recalls suddenly grabbed hold of the nation’s attention in 2012, anyone could have been excused for thinking they might have gone back to being little used, frequently ignored weapons this year. But 2013 proved such expectations wrong. Despite a sharp drop in their total number, recall elections once again managed to place themselves on centerstage in American politics. Unlike in Wisconsin in 2012, the most prominent recalls of 2013 did not appear to be stark Democrat versus Republican fights. Instead, it was a hot button political issue — the fight over gun control — that allowed recalls to push their way into the spotlight. Colorado, for instance, saw some of its most expensive state legislative elections in history: Two Democratic state senators — including the State Senate president — were kicked out and a third resigned, over the state’s new gun control laws.

Editorials: Secretaries of State: A Key Front in the Battle to Protect Voting Rights | Steve Rosenthal/Huffington Post

Across the country we are witnessing a wholesale attack by the right wing on workers, unions, women’s health, the environment, LGBT issues, civil rights, immigration and nearly every other right, protection and civil liberty that Americans hold near and dear. In recent years, Republicans have invested in and won key state legislative victories, which has resulted in lopsided redistricting that will make the work for progressives even more difficult at the state and federal level for years to come. At the cornerstone of the GOP strategy is an assault on voting rights in state after state, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in this country in decades. The right wing understands that their views are out of step with the rapidly increasing progressive majority in America — women, people of color, union members, LGBT and young voters. And the only way they can win is by attempting to prevent this new progressive majority from voting. If we are to turn things around, finding new ways to defend fair and equal access to the ballot must be a top priority for progressives.

Editorials: ‘If I Need ID to Buy Cough Syrup, Why Shouldn’t I Need ID to Vote?’ | Andrew Cohen/The Atlantic

I spent hundreds of hours talking about the law on the radio this year but one question, one exchange, especially sticks out. It was this summer, a few weeks after the five conservative justices of the United States Supreme Courtextinguished the heart of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. The station’s host had with him a local lawmaker who supported voter identification efforts underway in her state. “If I need to show identification at a pharmacy to get cold medicine” she asked me on the air, “why shouldn’t I have to show identification to vote?” It’s a question loaded with import as we begin what promises to be yet another year of voter suppression in America. For it’s a question that Republican officials and other supporters of voting restrictions have been asking all over the country over the past few years, in countless iterations, as they relentlessly push ahead with measures that purport to ensure “fairness” and “accuracy” in voting but that are designed instead to disenfranchise the poor and the elderly, the ill and the young, and, most of all, people of color. They ask that question in Florida and in Texas and in North Carolina and in Virginia, in virtually every state that was, until last June, encumbered by Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. And they ask that question in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Ohio. They ask that question wherever partisan efforts are underway to further cleave the electorate into haves and have-nots. It’s a question as simple as it is flawed, one that polls well even though it is based upon a series of self-perpetuating myths.

National: Key fights ahead for right to vote | MSNBC

Voting rights advocates are girding for a series of crucial battles that will play out over the next twelve months in Congress, in the courts, and in state legislatures. Victories could go a long way to reversing the setbacks of the last year. Defeats could help cement a new era in which voting is more difficult, especially for racial minorities, students, and the poor. Despite some scattered efforts by states to improve voting access, the right to vote took a big step backwards last year. Republican legislatures in states across the country continued to advance restrictive voting laws, while a major Supreme Court ruling, Shelby County v. Holder, badly weakened the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Wendy Weiser, who runs the Democracy program at the Brenan Center for Justice, called Shelby “the single biggest blow to voting rights in decades.”

National: The futility of the Federal Election Commission | Dallas Morning News

A six-month study by the watchdog Center for Public Integrity has reached sobering, even depressing, conclusions about an agency that should be one of the bulwarks of our democracy. Among the findings:

*The FEC has “reached a paralyzing all-time low in its ability to reach consensus.” The six-member commission operates with three Republicans and three Democrats. And often over the past several years, there have only been four or five commissions. Because four votes are required to take any action, and we live in highly-polarized times, there’s…wait for the shock…gridlock.

Editorials: Yup, Voter ID Laws Have Nothing to Do With Fraud | The Daily Beast

One of the most shocking political developments of last year was the speed with which Southern, Republican-controlled states embraced voter identification laws after the Supreme Court overturned section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. To critics, including myself, this was an easy call: GOP lawmakers were taking advantage of a newly permissive policy environment to suppress minority voters, and African Americans in particular. If this sounds like an outrageous accusation, then it’s worth reading a recent paper from Keith G. Bentele and Erin E. O’Brien, which brings statistical analysis to bear on the question of voter identification laws. What they found was surprisingly straightforward: Between 2006 and 2011, if a state elected a Republican governor, increased its share of Republican legislators, or became more competitive while under a Republican, it was more likely to pass voter ID and other restrictions on the franchise. Likewise, states with “unencumbered Republican majorities” and large black populations were especially likely to pass restrictive measures.

Arkansas: New voter ID requirement takes effect | Associated Press

Three special elections in January will test Arkansas’ new voter ID law that took effect Wednesday. On Jan. 14, voters in Craighead County will elect a state senator to replace Sen. Paul Bookout, who resigned in August after he was cited by the Arkansas Ethics Commission. Poll workers will be trained about the law before the election, Craighead County Election Commissioner Scott McDaniel told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “Anytime a change happens, you can anticipate problems, but you just make it as smooth as you can with good, intensive training and a backup plan,” he said. “The provisional ballot process has been in place for a while. And we will err on the side of caution and making sure our goal of making every legitimate vote count.”

Colorado: No charges against activist who voted in recall to point out flaws in Colorado law | The Gazette

The Attorney General’s Office will not charge Jon Caldara for voting in the September recall election of Sen. John Morse, despite what investigators deemed extremely suspect behavior. Caldara, a longtime Boulder resident and a Republican, used a new same-day registration law to register to vote in El Paso County and cast a ballot in the recall election. Caldara told the media that he was voting to prove a point: that the Democrats’ new election law was flawed and allowed voters to move from district to district and vote in close elections with little recourse. “It’s not a big surprise. I wasn’t worried about it,” Caldara said of the decision. “This law was created to legalize voter mischief. It was created so that voters could be moved around into districts where their vote was most needed at the very last moment of the campaign. All I did was to make public what happens privately.”

Florida: Revamped voting roll scrub soon to begin | Tampa Tribune

The state will soon begin forwarding the names of suspected non-citizens on the voter rolls to local elections officials, formally kicking off the second version of Gov. Rick Scott’s controversial scrubbing program, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said Tuesday. “We’ll start shortly after the first of the year, on a case-by-case basis, reviewing files and then forwarding them down to the supervisors,” Detzner said after an event closing out the state’s recognition of the 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon’s landing in Florida. The state has been working to finalize a procedure for using a federal list to vet registered voters since 2012, when it first struck a deal with the Department of Homeland Security over the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database. Now, the final steps of putting that process in place are close. Detzner’s office has sent a proposed template for a “memorandum of agreement” to the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, the organization that represents county election chiefs. The organization is expected to respond to the state over the next week or two.

Kansas: State to add voters to rolls by comparing birth certificates | Kansas City Star

More than 19,000 of the Kansans who signed up to vote to last year saw their registrations set aside because they didn’t prove their U.S. citizenship to the state. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has a plan to make more of those voters eligible. His solution might cause even more legal problems. Kobach wants to match the list of suspended registrations with records kept at the state health department to determine who has Kansas birth certificates, one of the documents accepted for proving citizenship. The state’s vital statistics office will compare lists of would-be voters to its records. Kobach’s office would be notified when matches are confirmed. The procedure will be followed in the future as Kansans register to vote. “This, in my view, is good government,” Kobach said. But critics were quick to point out that Kobach’s idea could pose constitutional problems because it treats voters born in Kansas differently from voters born elsewhere.

Mississippi: Lawmaker pushing online voter registration | The Clarion-Ledger

A state senator wants to allow online voter registration and believes there will be bipartisan support for the legislation. Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said he is crafting a bill for the 2014 Legislature, which begins Tuesday, to allow online voter registration. Blount said he doesn’t believe there will be widespread opposition because mail-in voter registration is allowed now. Also, he said the new law requiring people to show a photo ID to vote should allay any concerns over online registration. But Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s spokeswoman Pamela Weaver said Hosemann has serious concerns regarding the security of online voter registration.

Pennsylvania: Straight-party option would be eliminated under Evankovich bill | TribLIVE

By choosing just one lever or button, Pennsylvanians have had the ability to select either the Democrats’ or Republicans’ entire slate of candidates for more than 70 years. But that would change if a proposal in Harrisburg by state Rep. Eli Evankovich — and 15 Republican cosponsors — becomes law. The House State Government Committee had a hearing Dec. 11 on Evankovich’s legislation to eliminate the straight-party ballot option in Pennsylvania, which would mean voters would have to identify their preferred candidate in each individual race rather than being able to press one button to choose all Democrats or all Republicans automatically. Pennsylvania is one of only 14 states that provides a straight-party option, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

South Carolina: Clemson program could bring online voting to South Carolina | The State

As the calendar rolls into 2014, the political season moves into hyper mode as state voters prepare to go to the polls to elect a governor and two U.S. senators and make other decisions in a mid-term election. Memories of long lines at the polls and questions about the state’s electronic voting machines are likely to recur. A Clemson University professor says he has some technological solutions to those problems. Juan Gilbert, chair of human-centered computing at Clemson, envisions a time when voters will be able to cast their ballots online without leaving home, and when each vote can be verified without relying solely on electronic data. …  The state spent more than $34 million for about 11,400 iVotrinic voting machines in 2004 and 2005, according to a report released last year by the state Legislative Audit Council. That’s about $3,000 per machine, compared to about $500 for an iPad.

West Virginia: Thousands of voters asked to confirm registration | Logan Banner

Thousands of voters in West Virginia will soon receive a postcard in the mail asking them if their address has changed and if they want to remain a registered voter. There are about 1.2 million registered voters in West Virginia, and county clerks will be mailing more than 335,000 notifications to voters who may have changed their address or who have been idle for two federal election cycles. “The Secretary of State’s Office takes our election process and our voter registration process very seriously, and we are committed to protecting the integrity of those processes and keeping our voter rolls clean,” Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant said. “We, along with the county clerks, are undertaking this state mandated process to ensure that our voter rolls are accurate. Most of the people receiving notifications will just have to fill out the notification and send it back.”

Bangladesh: Premier rules out election cancelation | Arab News

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ruled out Thursday any last-minute cancelation of weekend elections that have been boycotted by the opposition, accusing her rivals of holding the country hostage. In a final address to the nation ahead of Sunday’s violence-plagued polls, Hasina accused opposition leader Khaleda Zia of shunning dialogue and rejecting an offer to share power in an interim administration. “We have tried our best to bring the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) into the elections,” Hasina, who is the leader of the ruling Awami League, said in a 40-minute televised address. “Zia spurned my offer for dialogue and instead chose the path of confrontation. “The Jan. 5 polls will be held in accordance with the constitution,” she added.

Thailand: Thai Election Commission Seeks Talks to End Political Crisis | Bloomberg

Thailand’s Election Commission plans to meet members of the nation’s biggest political parties today to discuss ways to ease tension before a Feb. 2 vote that’s being threatened by growing anti-government protests. Groups opposed to caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra plan to surround government ministries and occupy 20 major intersections in Bangkok on Jan. 13 until she agrees to step down and allow an unelected council to reform the country’s electoral system, Suthep Thaugsuban, a former opposition lawmaker who is leading the movement, said yesterday. Yingluck’s administration has endured more than two months of street demonstrations that Suthep says are aimed at erasing her family’s corrupting political influence. Allies of Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, have won the past five elections, including two since his ouster in a 2006 coup. The baht fell for an 11th day today, the longest losing streak on record, and the benchmark stock index slumped to a 15-month low.

Indiana: Appeals Court throws out 3 convictions in Charlie White case | Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Court of Appeals threw out three of six felony convictions of former Secretary of State Charlie White, citing double jeopardy. The decision, issued today, came just less than a month after a hearing on White’s appeal. The judges also ruled that White’s attorney, former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, was not ineffective. White was convicted in February 2012 of six Class D felony charges, which stemmed from his residency while he served on the Fishers Town Council. Prosecutors said White voted and took pay as a council member of a district in which he no longer resided. White claimed he was living with his ex-wife, which was within the council district. But evidence presented during the trial indicated that he had been living in a new town home outside the district.

National: Federal Election Commission still in ‘significant’ danger of hacking | Center for Public Integrity

The Federal Election Commission’s computer and IT security continues to suffer from “significant deficiencies,” and the agency remains at “high risk,” according to a new audit of the agency’s operations. “FEC’s information and information systems have serious internal control vulnerabilities and have been penetrated at the highest levels of the agency, while FEC continues to remain at high risk for future network intrusions,” independent auditor Leon Snead & Company of Rockville, Md., writes. The audit, released today, comes less than two weeks after a Center for Public Integrity investigation that revealed Chinese hackers infiltrated the FEC’s IT systems during the initial days of October’s government shutdown — an incursion that the agency’s new leadership has vowed to swiftly address. The Chinese hacking attack is believed by FEC leaders and Department of Homeland Security officials to be the most serious act of sabotage in the agency’s 38-year history.

Indiana: Judge rejects ex-secretary of state’s request to overturn voter fraud conviction | Associated Press

A judge has denied former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White’s request to have his conviction on voter fraud and other charges overturned and ordered White to begin serving his sentence of a year of home confinement. Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Daniel Pfleging ruled Monday that there was no evidence to show that White’s trial attorney, Carl Brizzi, shouldn’t enjoy the “strong presumption of competence” and that Brizzi’s trial strategy was “objectively reasonable.” Pfleging wrote that White couldn’t point to a single piece of evidence or a witness that would have swayed the jury’s decision, and that White hasn’t presented anything during post-conviction evidentiary hearings that challenged Pfleging’s “confidence in the outcome or the process which produced it.” White’s current attorney, Bryan Ciyou, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. His office said he wouldn’t be at work Thursday.