California: Transparency Project nabs federal grant; money to be used to augment post-election audit project, allow for duplication elsewhere | Times-Standard Online

A local project that uncovered a fatal flaw in Humboldt County’s old elections system just got some national recognition that may ultimately lead to its becoming the standard rather than the exception.

The federal Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) officially notified the Humboldt County Elections Office this week that it was receiving a $25,000 grant to fund and augment the Humboldt County Election Transparency Project so it can be replicated in other places. While the grant is relatively small in comparison to the $1.5 million the EAC doled out in this round of grants, its impact could be huge, according to Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich.

California: Appeals court upholds ranked-choice vote for San Francisco | San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco’s ranked-choice voting system is constitutional, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday in rejecting a challenge by a former candidate for supervisor.

Ron Dudum, a small-business owner who lost to now-disgraced former Supervisor Ed Jew in 2006, sued San Francisco election officials in federal court last year. He claimed that the city’s system violates the Constitution by denying thousands of voters a voice in elections and allows candidates to win without getting a majority.

California: Secretary of State Bowen concedes in California race | POLITICO.com

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conceded Thursday in the special election race for a vacant Southern California congressional seat, handing a surprising second-place finish to little-known Republican Craig Huey. Huey, a wealthy advertising executive who spent $500,000 out of his own pocket, will face Democratic Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn in a July 12 runoff.

Bowen, also a Democrat, finished about 200 votes behind Huey in Tuesday’s primary but was waiting on around 10,000 absentee and provisional ballots that had yet to be counted. On Thursday afternoon, as election officials sorted through the remaining votes, Huey’s lead grew to 750 ballots.

California: Hahn’s Opponent in California Special Election Runoff Unknown | Roll Call Politics

The Los Angeles County registrar said final results of California’s 36th district special election will not be certified and announced until Friday, leaving the makeup of the July 12 runoff unknown.

When every precinct had finished counting late Tuesday night, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) was the only candidate assured of a spot in the runoff and a chance to replace former Rep. Jane Harman (D).

California: Voting change could be costly locally | Chico Enterprise Record

Though Measure A proponents claim moving the Chico City Council elections from November to June would not cost taxpayers more money, the Registrar of Voters Office says different. A June 2012 ballot could cost Chico $130,000 versus a November election price tag of $57,000, according to a Butte County Registrar of Voters estimate. The city could pay about $73,000 more per council election, which occur every two years.

Because the city would be sharing the June election with just the county rather than about 17 jurisdictions who appeared in the November 2010 ballot, the election would likely cost more, said Laurie Cassady, assistant county registrar of voters. Measure A supporters had enough signatures to put the initiative on the June 7 special municipal election ballot. During a debate last week, proponents said the election month change would not cost more money.

California: An interview with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen | Daily Kos

Debra BowenEarlier this year, Congresswoman Jane Harman resigned her seat in Congress, triggering a special election in California’s reliably Democratic 36th Congressional district. Sixteen candidates have filed for the May 17 special election; under California’s newly adopted primary system, the top two finishers in that election will advance to a July runoff, regardless of party. Widely expected to advance to this runoff from among the crowded field are Los Angeles City Councilmember Janice Hahn, and current California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Secretary Bowen has a reputation among California’s online political community for her groundbreaking work on issues regarding the internet and election integrity (and for personally responding to Facebook messages and Twitter replies). I recently got the chance to catch up with Bowen in the district and talk to her about the election and her priorities. Please note that the publication of this interview here does not constitute an endorsement by Orange to Blue or DailyKos.

California: Report shows 1 in 6 recounts changed election results in the last decade | California Watch

Between 2000 and 2009, recounts in state elections were extremely uncommon and rarely resulted in reversals when they did happen, according to a new study [PDF] by the Center for Voting and Democracy. Out of 2,884 statewide general elections there were 18 recounts, only three of which resulted in a change in decision. …

“Having an automatic recount procedure for a race won by 0.5 percent, that’s way too high, absent some reason to think that there’s something that was systematically done in error or fraud.” But Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, said the systems used in many states can’t be recounted because of their design. And even where recountable systems are used, fraud and error can easily go undetected if a race is not close enough to merit a recount.

California: California Grand jury debunks reports of local voter fraud | Bakersfield.com

Many instances of voter fraud alleged in recent years have “morphed from facts and allegations to urban legend” and the biggest instances of the problem locally happened 20-plus years ago, according to a Kern County grand jury report released Thursday.

Jurors investigated the local voting system, according to the report, after receiving a letter last year detailing a public presentation made by a 2002 30th Assembly District candidate alleging there were “huge discrepancies in voter registrations” before his loss.

The report doesn’t name names but it’s obviously referring to Bakersfield businessman and Republican Dean Gardner, who lost the race to Democrat Nicole Parra by a razor-thin margin and alleged voter fraud at the time.

Download Grand Jury Report (pdf)

Full Article: http://www.bakersfield.com/blogs/politics/x1284224764/Grand-jury-debunks-reports-of-local-voter-fraud

California: California Voting rules remain vague | Glendale News-Press

The City Council this week broached ditching so-called “emergency ballots” for last minute voters in favor of beefing up absentee vote-by-mail allowances, but stopped short of making any changes for the April 5 election.

Glendale voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot up to seven days before the election, but after that deadline they can fill out an application for a so-called “emergency” vote-by-mail ballot up to Election Day.