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Secretary of State Ken Detzner and Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark appear to have resolved their differences over where absentee ballots can be collected in the special election to replace the late Congressman C.W. Bill Young. According to a letter from Detzner to Clark released late Tuesday, the two spoke earlier in the day and Detzner will not take the dispute to court to try to enforce a directive ordering supervisors that they should only accept completed absentee ballots at their offices. “Again, as we discussed earlier, we believe that your quick work to amend your voting security procedures is essential prior to a single-county Special Election for Congressional District 13,” Detzner wrote. “I do not see the need for any further legal action at this time.”

Editorials: Stop restricting Florida voting rights | Miami Herald

Yet another flap between state officials and Florida’s county election supervisors is in the news, raising new questions about the motives of Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his appointee, Secretary of State Ken Detzner. Are they committed to making it easier for all eligible Floridians to vote or is their real goal to make it more difficult? So wondered U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, before meeting with Tampa Bay area elections supervisors on Tuesday. “I just don’t understand why the state keeps making it harder for people to vote,” he said. Good question. First, the governor signed a bill in 2011 that restricted the hours for early voting, raising the ire of county supervisors. They warned of lengthy delays for voters during the 2012 presidential election. They were so right — some voters in South Florida stood in line for eight hours just to exercise their constitutional right. That’s unconscionable. The governor and Mr. Detzner also tried to purge voter rolls before the presidential election — with disastrous results. The “purge” was so riddled with mistakes and misinformation that its instigators finally cancelled it.

Editorials: Ballot confusion – Florida election officials keep getting in the way of fair voting | Herald Tribune

In a recent directive regarding absentee ballots, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner once again created controversy where none was necessary. That’s becoming a habit for Florida elections officials, who have made repeated, error-filled attempts to purge the state’s rolls of voters wrongly identified as suspect. At least this time, facing a revolt by angry local elections officials, Detzner quickly backtracked on his absentee-ballot rule. Maybe this latest stumble will signal the end of the state elections office’s efforts to fix voting policies that aren’t broken. Let’s hope so — for the voters’ and the local supervisors’ sake. The latest tempest arose Nov. 25 when Detzner, who oversees Florida’s elections office, said elections supervisors “should not solicit return of absentee ballots at any place other than a supervisor’s office.”

North Carolina: Election Day drug bust violated policing best practices | Facing South

A month after 100 police, sheriff’s deputies and special agents swooped in on the small North Carolina town of Mount Gilead the morning of Election Day and made dozens of drug arrests, there’s still controversy around the timing of the Nov. 5 sting, which disproportionately affected African Americans. “It seemed kinda strange that they would have a bust on Election Day,” said Leon Turner, an African-American resident of Mount Gilead. The election involved a highly contested mayoral race that pitted sitting Mount Gilead Mayor Patty Almond against challenger Earl Poplin, a former mayor of the town. Almond first ran for mayor in 2011 and lost by two votes, but it was later discovered that four black voters were denied ballots after their residency was challenged. The state board of elections eventually ordered a new election, which Almond won, taking office last December. She lost her re-election bid last month by about 90 votes.

Ohio: Kasich asked to veto election reform bills | Record-Courier

Voting rights advocates are calling on Gov. John Kasich to veto a handful of election reform bills moving through the state legislature, saying the proposed law changes would make it more difficult for eligible Ohioans to cast ballots. “What we see right now is a concerted effort by Gov. Kasich and our very, very hyper partisan state legislature to undermine the democratic process and build a brick wall between voters and the ballot box,” said Deidra Reese, representing the Ohio Fair Election Network. Among other bills, legislation is pending in the House Policy and Legislative Oversight Committee to eliminate “Golden Week,” the period during which residents can register to vote and cast ballots at the same time. Other bills would increase how often voters addresses are checked against other government databases, permit the secretary of state to mail unsolicited absentee ballot applications to voters while prohibiting other public officials from doing the same, require certain information be included on provisional ballots cast by voters whose eligibility is in question, and reduce the amount of time voters casting the latter have to confirm their status. Comparable provisions were included in House Bill 194 of the last general assembly, which was initially passed, then the subject of a voter referendum before lawmakers preemptively repealed it before a November vote. The bills have already moved through the Senate and awaits a final vote in the House. The latter has its final session day of the year next week.

South Carolina: Columbia Election Commission certifies strong-mayor results | Politics | The State

The Municipal Election Commission certified Thursday morning the results of the strong-mayor referendum – defeated Tuesday by voters – emphasizing that all votes had been counted. The commission wanted to make sure mistakes made in last month’s election were not repeated. Hundreds of absentee votes were missed in the Nov. 5 Columbia city races because a personal electronic ballot, which held the votes, was not read. During the certification Thursday at the county office, city Commissioner Jay Bender asked Howard Jackson, director of the Richland County elections office, if all of the votes had been counted and all of the electronic ballots had been read. Jackson said all had been counted and read and mentioned a precertification audit, which was done as a checks and balances measure to make sure no mistakes were made.

Editorials: Virginia attorney general recount: It’s not who wins, but how | Roanoke Times

Once again the election is over, and not over. The razor-thin campaign to be Virginia’s next attorney general has entered the recount phase. This is the time for both sides to put politics aside and strive for a scrupulously fair process, regardless of the result. On Election Night, Republican Mark Obenshain clung to a slight lead. After all returns were in, Democrat Mark Herring was on top by fewer than 14 dozen votes out of more than 2 million. He has been certified the winner. Obenshain, as expected — and as is wholly appropriate to the situation — has requested a recount. A Herring victory would give the Democrats a sweep in the three statewide offices. An Obenshain win would salvage something of the season for Republicans. It seems unlikely the certified results will be overturned, but not impossible. Therefore, both sides will be very motivated to count their own votes and challenge the opponent’s. But instead of this, every vote should be judged on one criterion: Did that vote adhere to all of the pertinent rules?

Honduras: Irregularities In Honduran Elections – Analysis | Eurasia Review

On November 24, more than three million Honduran citizens went to the voting booths to select the next president and ruling party that would succeed the government of President Porfirio Lobo. Lobo’s administration has been mired with accusations of corruption and ineffectiveness since its contested election in 2009, just months after a military coup deposed then-president Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009). That very election night, without a full tally of the votes cast, the heads-of-state of Panama, Colombia, and Guatemala congratulated the National Party’s Juan Orlando Hernandez on his presidential victory. Moreover, Lisa Kubiske, U.S. ambassador to Honduras, just before 1 A.M. the following Monday, recognized not only Hernandez’s victory, but also the “transparency” and the “few incidents of violence” during the elections. And, on Monday evening, the U.S. State Department released a short press release commending the “peaceful participation” and “transparent” electoral process. These statements were not only “premature,” as Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, claimed following election day, but they also paint a portrait of knee-jerk approval for what is now looking like a contested election.

Editorials: Election Circus Undermines Honduran Democracy | Bloomberg

Politicians in Honduras have been cementing the Central American country’s reputation for dysfunction. Four and half years ago, the Honduran military — with a nod from Congress and the Supreme Court — staged a coup against leftist President Manuel Zelaya in order to halt his plans for populist constitutional reform. The repercussions of that decision have made a mess of the country’s recent presidential election. Xiomara Castro, a leftist presidential candidate who also happens to be Zelaya’s wife, has so far refused to accept defeat in the Nov. 24 election, despite having apparently received about 28.8 percent of the vote, 8 percentage points fewer than the winner, Juan Hernandez of the conservative National Party. Castro’s rejection of, well, reality began the evening of the election, when she declared herself the victor before the electoral tribunal had announced the official results. Later that night, she tweeted: “With the results I’ve received from nationwide exit polls, I can tell you: I am the President of Honduras.”

Nepal: Nepal Maoist probe panel blames electoral body, national army for election fraud | Global Post

The UCPN(Maoist), the third largest party in the new Constituent Assembly(CA) has blamed Election Commission and Nepal Army(NA) for engineering a poll- rigging on Nov. 19 Constituent Assembly(CA). An intra-party panel formed by the party to investigate the alleged irregularities blamed the two state institutions for the defeat of the party. The party, which launched 10-year-long insurgency in 2006 and became the largest party in 2008 CA election, suffered a humiliating loss in Nov. 19 elections, securing only 80 seats in 601-member CA body which is expected to draft a new constitution.

Editorials: Reforming the Ugandan Electoral Commission is very easy | The Observer

Very many political analysts in Uganda have opined that the current Electoral Commission cannot conduct free and fair election. There seems to be wide agreement that there is need to have an election-management body that fits into the modus operandi or aspirations of the multi-party political dispensation which we embraced in 2005. We should not forget that the current EC was introduced through efforts of a single party; therefore, the perception that it is partial, prevails. This has not been helped by the manner of appointment of commissioners of the EC prescribed in the 1995 Constitution which gives the president the power to appoint the commission and also the power to fire it without recourse to any other body. That is why any right-thinking Ugandan should support the bid by Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) to amend articles of the Constitution that talk about the composition of the EC as well as some sections of the Electoral Commission Act.

Voting Blogs: Florida Secretary of State Faces Uprising by County Election Officials After Absentee Ballot Directive | BradBlog

At this point, the slogan for Republican Secretaries of State around the country seems to be: “If it ain’t broke, break it!” That’s certainly the case in Florida, where Sec. of State Ken Detzner — fresh off his and Governor Rick Scott’s embarrassing and failed 2012 purge of supposed “non-citizen voters” from the rolls (with another more recent attempt underway since then) — is at it again. And this time, Detzner seems to be facing a full-blown uprising from county Supervisors of Elections (SOE) refusing to carry out a new directive which would make it more difficult for absentee voters to cast their ballot. The elected SOEs are claiming that the new directive by Detzner, an appointee of Gov. Rick Scott (R), was neither asked for nor necessary under state law. They Supervisors have also denied Detzner’s initial claim that the directive was issued in response to requests by two SOEs. Last week, Detzner issued a directive [PDF] to county SOEs instructing them that they may no longer allow voters to use secured remote absentee ballot drop-off stations created at locations like public libraries and tax-collectors offices. Suddenly, according to Detzner’s new rules, all absentee ballots must either be mailed in, or dropped off at county election offices.

National: The downside of clear election laws | Washington Post

State lawmakers have introduced at least 2,328 bills this year that would change the way elections are run at the local level. Some passed, some stalled. Some are mundane tweaks, others are controversial overhauls. But if election reformers want to prevent their laws from being held up by lawsuits, they would be wise to pay attention to how they’re written, says Ned Foley, an Ohio State University professor and election law expert. “Put clarity at the top of the list of things to achieve, maybe before fairness or integrity or access or whatever, because litigators can’t fight over things that are clear,” he said, speaking on an election law panel during a multi-day conference hosted by the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington, D.C. “It’s amazing how much ambiguity kind of seeps into laws that is unintended.” But while clear regulations are important, too much can backfire, said Alysoun McLaughlin, deputy director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections in Maryland.

National: Democratic state lawmakers push for ballot access | USAToday

States are gearing up for another battle over ballot access, and Florida, a key swing state, could again find itself in the middle. Florida’s next legislative session could be marked by fights over absentee ballots, online registration and early voting sites. Earlier this year, state lawmakers eased some voting restrictions enacted in 2011. Those restrictions, including a reduction in early voting days, had helped snuff out voter registration drives and contributed to lines as long as seven hours on Election Day in 2012. Now, a key Democrat in Florida’s House of Representatives wants the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature to go further by making it easier for residents to register and vote.

National: Group plans voting rights push | Politico

A group of state lawmakers on Wednesday met to develop policy proposals they say will promote voting rights as part of a 50-state effort aimed at enacting laws that expand voting and push back against laws the say restrict access to the polls. The Washington meeting of the left group American Values First’s Voting Rights Project was the first gathering of the task force that launched this summer. On Wednesday, the group identified areas it says states can improve on voting rights and that it will advocate for, including allowing registration on Election Day, online and pre-registering students, expanding early voting, distributing locations of polling places, including on college campuses, and reducing long lines at them, offering voting by mail and expanding absentee voting. The idea, the group says, is to create strategies that can be deployed in each state.

Florida: U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson charges Gov. Rick Scott’s administration with voter suppression | Sun Sentinel

Even as Gov. Rick Scott’s top elections official suddenly backed away from a plan to restrict the way voters can return completed absentee ballots, Florida’s top Democrat accused the Scott administration of attempting to suppress voter turnout. “It’s patently obvious. It’s an attempt to suppress the vote by people who otherwise might have difficulty getting to the polls on Election Day,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., at a news conference Wednesday at the Palm Beach County Elections Office headquarters. Americans’ right to vote is “precious” and guaranteed by the Constitution, Nelson said. “When you start making it more difficult to cast that ballot, that is interfering with that constitutional right.”

Minnesota: Ritchie seeks dismissal of legal challenge to new online voter sign-up system | Star Tribune

A lawsuit contesting a new, Internet-based system for voter registration should be dismissed because plaintiffs lack standing to sue, attorneys for Secretary of State Mark Ritchie argued Wednesday. New documents filed in the case say those behind the lawsuit are seeking an extraordinary remedy and can’t show they’ve been injured. Four Minnesota Republican legislators and two advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last month. They argued that Ritchie, a Democrat, exceeded his power by creating the registration tool without explicit legislative consent. The formal response on behalf of Ritchie was filed ahead of a hearing next week in Ramsey County District Court.

Mississippi: Voter ID Preparations Underway in Mississippi | WTOK

The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office is set to roll out its new Voter ID initiative next week. More than 90 percent of Mississippians already have the proper identification needed for Mississippi’s new Voter ID law that goes into effect next year. That’s according to Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who visited Lauderdale County on Wednesday. “They have got a driver’s license, a passport, or a student ID,” Hosemann explains. “All the things that you would need to vote with. So, the first thing is to look at what’s required and necessary.”

Virginia: Attorney general vote recount, some by hand, to get started Dec. 16 | Washington Times

A recount of the votes in the Virginia attorney general’s race will begin Dec. 16, but a number of jurisdictions, including Alexandria, are facing hand recounts thanks to voting machines considered outdated by the state’s electoral board. Only 165 votes of more than 2.2 million cast separate Democrat Mark R. Herring and Republican Mark D. Obenshain — a 0.007 percent difference that amounts to the closest finish to a race in Virginia history. A three-judge recount court in Richmond on Wednesday announced the process would begin Dec. 17 and 18 for a majority of the state’s voting districts, though Fairfax County, the state’s largest district, was given the go-ahead to begin its recount a day earlier, on Dec. 16. Donald Palmer, secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections, said officials would prefer the ballots be tabulated by optical scanners. In some cases, though, jurisdictions use machines that can’t isolate just one of the races that appeared on the ballot — in this case, the attorney general’s race.

Virginia: Mark Herring, Mark Obenshain recount to start Dec. 16 | Associated Press

Democrat Mark Herring’s 165-vote win over Republican Mark Obenshain in the close race for attorney general is headed to a recount Dec. 17 and 18, with Fairfax County getting a one-day head start. Richmond Circuit Judge Beverly W. Snukals scheduled the recount at a hearing Wednesday in which attorneys for both candidates debated the ground rules for what is expected to be the state’s most extensive recount ever in the closest statewide race in modern Virginia political history. Snukals also scheduled a tentative Dec. 19 date for a recount court to rule on disputed votes in the recount. Snukals agreed to allow Fairfax County to begin its recount Dec. 16, with the remaining localities joining in the following two days. Fairfax County is the state’s most populous and uses a variety of voting machines that could extend its recount beyond two days. Donald Palmer, secretary of the State Board of Elections, attended the nearly four-hour hearing to assist Snukals and attorneys for Obenshain and Herring navigate election law and various schedules to ensure local elections officials can conduct the recount. Asked outside court whether he was confident in an accurate recount, Palmer said, “Absolutely.”

Honduras: The Perils of Democracy: Honduran Election Aftermath | PanAm Post

One week after the general elections in Honduras, an environment of disagreement and uncertainty prevails in the Central American country — one of the poorest, most insecure, and corrupt in the region. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of this country has already proclaimed a victor: Juan Orlando Hernández of Partido Nacional, who was elected with 36.8 percent of the popular vote. However, in second place, just a mere 250,000 votes away, we have the new socialist party, LIBRE, with Xiomara Castro de Zelaya as the candidate. She is not accepting the results, and LIBRE has denounced electoral fraud and already carried out several peaceful protests. The truly remarkable result of this election, though, is the end of two-party dominance in a country where it prevailed for more than 30 years. This came after the fragmentation of one of the traditional parties, the Partido Liberal de Honduras. With the newly created LIBRE party offshoot in second place, the ideological spectrum of options available to the electorate amplified, and political forces reconfigured. Never in the history of this country has a presidential election been so close or competitive with the results, in both percentage-points and votes counted. As a consequence, the incumbent party’s control of Congress will not be as high as it has been in the past. Instead, the newly elected president, facing almost 65 percent opposition, will have to manage a divided parliament, and most likely a president of the Unicameral Congress that does not belong to Partido Nacional.

Italy: Top court rules electoral law breaches constitution | Rueters

Italy’s electoral law is unconstitutional, its top court ruled on Wednesday, piling pressure on political parties to reform a system blamed for creating parliamentary deadlock. Most politicians agree, at least in public, that the electoral rules which helped produce a hung parliament after February’s national vote must change to give Italy a chance of forming a stable government. But despite repeated exhortations from business leaders, union chiefs and President Giorgio Napolitano, progress on voting reform has long been blocked by parties worried that a new system could damage their electoral chances. “Now there is no more room for excuses from anyone, we have to move, quickly, to change the law,” said Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, whose breakaway group from Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right is a key part of the fragile ruling coalition. The ruling is not retro-active and therefore does not affect the status or validity of the current parliament, a source close to the constitutional court told Reuters.

Solomon Islands: Biometric voter registry system launched | Solomon Star

A new and improved voter registration system has been launched yesterday. Called the Biometric Voter Registration, the system is expected to solve problems normally faced during voting such as double voting and or voting on other people’s names. The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission held the launching at the National Museum to mark the start of the Biometric Voters Registration Campaign. The ceremony was attended by the chairman of the SIEC, Sir Allen Kemakeza, Opposition leader Dr, Dereck Sikua, Permanent Secretary of Home affairs, Mr. Fred Fakarii and Representatives. Chief Electoral Officer Polycarp Haununu said the Electoral Commission will undertake a nationwide registration of eligible electors using the new system, starting from January to March 2014. “This is part of strengthening of the Electoral Cycle in Solomon Islands,” Mr Haununu said. He said the commission has taken the “bold decision” to replace the current voters list with a list to be compiled using the Biometric technology, in the face of advancing ICT and emerging challenges in voter registration in the Solomon Islands. “In the past years, registrations of voters were captured manually which sometimes not accurate and takes up a lot of time. With the use of this system, it will be simple fast and reliable.”

Sri Lanka: Opposition calls for independent electoral commission | Khabar South Asia

The Sri Lankan government is facing calls from both home and abroad to establish an independent electoral commission. In the wake of a Commonwealth report on elections in northern Sri Lanka, leading opposition parties joined a call by Commonwealth election observers for the island-nation to create such an impartial body. Opposition leaders say the government should re-instate the Sri Lankan constitution’s 17th Amendment, which provides for an independent electoral commission. Under the current 18th Amendment, President Mahinda Rajapaksa can appoint a commissioner of his choice, as well as to other positions such as chief justice. “Our party has repeatedly supported the 17th Amendment to the constitution, which makes way for the setting up of a number of independent commissions for elections, police, human rights, judicial services and bribery and corruption,” said R. Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party, whose candidate, C. V. Wigneswaran, swept the northern provincial council elections.

Tanzania: Opposition MPs oppose use of Isles voter register | Daily News

The Opposition from Zanzibar and the Mainland closed ranks and demanded that the permanent voter register (PVR) in the isles should not be used to qualify voters to take part in a referendum to decide on the new constitution, after the constitutional parliament endorses it. Opposition Chief Whip (Chadema) who is also Shadow Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr Tundu Lisu (Singida East-Chadema) said ‘shehas’ (sheriffs) have been denying eligible Zanzibaris the right to register as voters in the permanent register because of directives from some senior executive officials. “Shehas have been denying people registration because of lack of residency identity cards required for one to register as a voter, which if not properly checked, can mean that these people will also not take part in a planned referendum,” Mr Lissu argued while debating the 2013 Referendum Bill.

California: Palmdale ordered to hold by-district election for City Council posts | Los Angeles Times

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, who earlier this year found the city of Palmdale to be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act, has ordered the city to hold a new by-district election for its four City Council posts. In a ruling dated last week and received by the involved parties over the weekend, Judge Mark V. Mooney ordered that the special election, to replace the balloting for council seats held last month, is to be conducted June 3, the same day as the California primary. Future elections are to be held in November of even-numbered years, to dovetail with state and federal balloting, in the expectation that such coordination will increase voter turnout. The judge allowed Palmdale to continue to elect its mayor by voters throughout the city. That means Mayor James Ledford’s recent reelection will not be affected by the ruling.

District of Columbia: Bill Would Give D.C. Residents Who Aren’t U.S. Citizens Voting Rights | DCist

A bill was introduced to the Council today that would allow people who are D.C. residents but not U.S. citizens local voting rights. The Local Resident Voting Rights Act of 2013 was introduced by Councilmembers Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 8), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), David Grosso (I-At Large) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). The bill would amend the District of Columbia Election Code to allow non-citizens over the age of 18 who have lived in D.C. for at least 30 days and are legal permanent U.S. residents to vote in local elections. Translation: D.C. residents with a green card would be able to vote in municipal elections. “Pot holes, community centers, playgrounds, minimum wage, taxes, supercans, snow removal, alley closings, alcohol license moratoriums, red light cameras – these are all important issues that voters in the District of Columbia entrust their leaders with,” Grosso said in a statement. “And unfortunately, not all of our residents have say in choosing the individuals who make these decisions. In my opinion, that is unjust.”

Florida: Scott’s administration eases showdown over Pinellas election | Tampa Bay Times

With furor growing over his surprise announcement of new restrictions on the handling of absentee ballots, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner did Tuesday what critics say he should have done in the first place. He talked to a supervisor of elections — in particular, Deborah Clark of Pinellas County. And later Tuesday night, Detzner followed up with a letter to Clark suggesting he is satisfied with her work to make sure absentee ballots will be secure in Pinellas County’s upcoming special congressional election to replace the late C.W. Bill Young. Detzner also signaled he has no interest in upping the ante on a controversy that is pitting elected officials from around Florida against Gov. Rick Scott’s administration. “I do not see the need for any further legal action at this time,” concluded Detzner, Scott’s top elections official. But neither did he suggest any change to the new statewide directive announced last week.

Indiana: Tippecanoe County in search of new vendor to help certify poll books | Journal and Courier

The county terminated the contract with its election software consultants just six months before the next election. “It is now required in Indiana that electronic poll books have to be certified,” Tippecanoe County Clerk Christa Coffey said as she explained Monday to county commissioners why the contract needed to end. “Our current vendor, Votec, has determined they are not going to go through that certification process. So not only do we need to terminate this contract, but we need to find a new vendor.” The certification process is reviewed by the Voting Systems Technology Oversight Program, which is operated out of Ball State University in Muncie. The county has used Votec, which is based in San Diego, since the 2011 elections, Coffey said.

Louisiana: Appeals court examines state’s voter-registration obligations | The Advocate