CO: Gessler sues Myers – Center Post Dispatch Secretary of State Scott Gessler answered citizens’ questions and objections, interjected jokes and qualified election perceptions at length during a two-hour town hall meeting in Saguache Wednesday. A good-sized crowd listened intently as Gessler explained the role his office played in the election, separated his approach to…
CO: Gessler, clerks battle over ballots in Saguache County | Real Aspen.com A disputed election in south-central Colorado is now in the hands of a grand jury that is reviewing allegations that the clerk and other officials committed crimes when they tallied the votes. The officials under investigation stood to benefit from the election’s outcome…
KS: Senate Approves Voter ID Bill – WIBW.com The Kansas Senate has approved a bill containing Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to require voters to show photo identification at the polls. The vote Wednesday was 36-3. The Senate version of the bill still includes Kobach’s proposal to require people registering to vote for the…
American Majority’s “Voter Fraud” App: It’s a Tool for Election Law Violations | The Awl The last time we heard from the corporate-funded Washington D.C.-based “free market” candidate seed organization American Majority, it was training candidates to assume local offices like school boards in Wisconsin (and elsewhere) to better implement the “tools” that legislators like Governor…
OH: Ballot scanning company Election Systems & Software agrees to give Cuyahoga County $200,000 | cleveland.com A maker of ballot scanners will pay Cuyahoga County more than $200,000 because its equipment could not scan larger-sized ballots. The settlement approved Tuesday between Election Systems and Software Inc. and the county Board of Elections covers the county’s…
Estonia: Supreme Court Rejects Last Voter Complaint – ERR The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Review Chamber ruled on March 21 that the petition by student Paavo Pihelgas to invalidate the electronic voting results in the March 6 parliamentary elections lacks substance. Pihelgas sought nullification of the election result on the grounds that the software used in…
CO: Gessler sues for access to Saguache ballots – The Denver Post Secretary of State Scott Gessler filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking access to voted ballots from the 2010 Saguache County general election, arguing the county clerk doesn’t have the power to stop him from “inspecting and reviewing all aspects of the election process.” The…
AZ Senate Eliminates Spanish Election Material – Texas Observer So this really isn’t about immigrants, undocumented or not. The folks in power in Arizona don’t want anything in their state that doesn’t look or sound like they do. This recent vote in the Arizona state senate proves the point. The bill, SB1490 proposed by Maricopa…
CO: Secretary of state, clerks battle over Saguache ballots – The Denver Post What started as small-town suspicions of a “stolen” election has erupted into a fight between Secretary of State Scott Gessler and the state’s county clerks over whether voted ballots should be public records — and the issue appears headed to court. Gessler…
CO: Denver City Council endorses pay raise for elected officials – The Denver Post After spirited debate Monday, Denver’s City Council voted 10-3 to tentatively approve a 6.6 percent raise for the next sitting council and every other elected official — an increase to be delayed for half of their four-year terms. The city is…
CA: City Clerk Cites ‘Human Error’ for Ballot Miscalculation – West Hollywood, CA Patch Simple human error caused ballot counters to overestimate the number of ballots still to be counted in the West Hollywood City Council election. That’s the word from City Clerk Tom West, who oversaw the counting Tuesday night. Read More CA: Ranked-Choice…
CO: Saguache County Clerk Myers refuses Denver Post request – Center Post Dispatch Saguache County Clerk Melinda Myers received a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request Tuesday from Denver Post reporter Sara Burnett asking her to produce the ballots cast in the Nov. 2 election. In a response e-mailed on Tuesday, Myers reportedly denied Burnett…
CA: San Francisco ranked-choice voting confusing, poll says – San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco is heading into its first competitive mayor’s race using ranked-choice voting with a majority of voters who don’t understand how the system works, according to a poll to be released today. Despite ranked-choice voting being introduced for Board of Supervisors races…
AK: Felon voting rights bill passes first committee but may face opposition later – The Republic The Alaska Senate State Affairs Committee on Tuesday advanced a bill allowing felons the right to vote, despite concerns from one lawmaker. Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel of Anchorage says her constituents were concerned that the bill would absolve felons…
Disappointing Reversal on Transparency and Security for Washington Elections | Verified Voting Blog A bill aimed at reducing restriction to voting for military and other overseas voters passed the Washington State Senate by a 47-1 vote on Friday. Senate Bill 5171 contains many provisions that will certainly make voting easier for Washington citizens living overseas…
CT: Election panel urges reforms after Bridgeport election woes – Connecticut Post Former Mayor Nicholas Panuzio, first elected in 1971, said he’s tried to keep up with technological advances and other changes as he’s gotten older. All he wants is for the city registrars’ office to do the same. “With all of the things, and…
AL: Alabama legislative committees pass bills to cap increases in education spending, require photo ID at the polls and guarantee secret union ballots | al.com House Bill 19 by Rep. Kerry Rich, R-Albertville, which with some exceptions would require voters to show photo identification at the polls. Photo identification could include an Alabama driver’s license,…
CO: Saguache County election fraud case goes to a grand jury | Colorado Independent A major dispute over a flawed election in south-central Colorado is going to a state grand jury. Subpoenas are being handed down to officials in Saguache County, where the incumbent county clerk and county commissioner initially lost on Nov. 2 only…
CO: Voters to weigh in on ranked voting | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan A question on the April 5 municipal ballot asks whether the city should change its long-standing system for conducting City Council elections – as in whoever gets the most votes wins – to the process known as ranked voting, or instant-runoff election.…
CO: Saguache County’s election problems have residents crying foul – The Denver Post As she shooed people out of the Saguache County courthouse in the wee hours of election night 2010, Clerk and Recorder Melinda Myers struggled to hold back tears. Unofficial tallies showed Myers losing to Republican challenger Carla Gomez, 1,101 to 1,116. Meanwhile,…
CA: 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…
CA: Voting rules remain vague [“Emergency Abesentee”] – 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…
AL: Chapman Releases Legislative Wish List | ABC 32 WNCF TV Secretary of State Beth Chapman released her legislative wish list today highlighting her top two priorities: military voting and photo voter identification. Chapman is continuing her fight to expedite military voting in Alabama and has a proven electronic system used successfully by another state’s…
AL: Sec. of State Releases Legislative “Wish List” | ABC 32 WNCF TV The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC). The bill preserves the Electoral College, while assuring that every vote is equal and that every voter will…
CO: Photo ID voting requirement passes House – KDVR After a long argument on the House floor, Republicans were able to pass a bill that would require a photo ID in order to vote on an initial voice vote. House Bill 1003, sponsored by Reps. Ken Summer of Lakewood and Libby Szabo of Arvada, argued…
CO: Information indicates SOS played major role in escalating Saguache election snafu – Center Post Dispatch Over the past several weeks, many things have come to light that point directly to the Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) and their failure to enforce their own rules as the cause of Saguache County’s November election upheaval. In…
CA: Bill would let Californians register online to vote – San Jose Mercury News Californians would be able to register online to vote under a bill introduced Wednesday by state Sen. Leland Yee. Some states already offer online registration but California has put it off, awaiting implementation of a “VoteCal” statewide online database system now…
CA: Debra Bowen enters race to succeed congresswoman Jane Harman – latimes.com California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Tuesday jumped into the race to succeed retiring Rep. Jane Harman of Venice, setting up what is expected to be a lively contest between two prominent Democratic women for the largely coastal congressional district. “This was…
CA: Mail-only balloting possible for county – SignOnSanDiego.com Elections in San Diego County could be conducted entirely by mail under legislation introduced Monday by state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego. All-mail balloting would save local governments millions of dollars and increase voter participation, according to the senator. The legislation, SB 304, would create a five-year…
Iowa’s professional association of county election officials (according to the Des Moines Register, its membership is about 60% Republican and 40% Democratic) has voted to register in opposition to photo ID legislation. In Texas, a state legislative race in which the vast majority of ballots were cast on unrecountable machines nears resolution; an official recount…