Around the nation, the photo ID debate rages on. St. Paul, Minnesota begins a voter education effort following the City Council’s approval of new rules for instant runoff voting. The Colorado Legislature is considering legislation to establish a uniform vote by mail system in state elections, and the Massachusetts House orders a new election for…
GA: Saturday requirement removed from early-voting bill for local elections | ajc.com A revised early-voting bill would shorten the voting period to 21 days, but it would not require polls to be open on Saturdays if no state or federal candidates are on the ballot. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mark Hamilton, R-Cumming, removed the Saturday…
CA: Secretary of State Debra Bowen eyeing Harman’s congressional seat – Capitol Alert Secretary of State Debra Bowen is considering running for the congressional seat expected to be vacated by Democratic Rep. Jane Harman. “She is very, very seriously considering running for Congress,” Bowen campaign consultant Steve Barkan said. “It’s brand new news, and so…
CA: Bill would return California’s 2012 presidential primary to June – Los Angeles Times For years, Sacramento lawmakers worked to give California voters a bigger say in national politics by scheduling the state’s presidential primary as early as they could. The series of moves culminated in 2008 with a Feb. 5 vote, the earliest in…
Photo ID legislation leads election news coverage, today’s highlights being a hearing before a Minnesota House panel, and a Colorado House committee’s vote in favor of a photo ID bill. Bangladesh’s government has announced its intention to adopt electronic voting for future elections. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. CO: Voter ID…
The Photo ID debate shows no sign of cooling in TX, WI, and NC. In SC, the state Election Commission’s investigation concludes that Colleton County ballot discrepancies resulted from human error. In Montana, vote by mail legislation suffers an unexpected reversal, and in WV lawmakers seem likely to advance the gubernatorial primary to May 14.…
The Texas Senate has enacted photo ID legislation; the bill now moves to the state House. Palm Beach County, FL looks to use modem reporting of ballot-scanner results. Interantionally, the use of EVMs is expanding in India’s Uttar Pradesh state. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. FL: Broward commissioners scrap plans for…
AR: New ballots are not ready | The Baxter Bulletin Touch-screen voting may be on hold in Baxter County and other counties across the state. Baxter County Clerk Rhonda Porter said the county has not received electronic ballots from the state for its iVotronics touch-screen voting machines. Porter said early voting begins Monday and paper…
CA: Court says Legislature can’t write own ballot language – Capitol Alert A state appeals court today ruled that the state Legislature did not have authority to draft its own ballot language for the successful high-speed rail bond measure lawmakers placed on the 2008 ballot. State law tasks the state attorney general with writing an…
ID: 45 households in Asotin County get wrong ballot for upcoming election | KLEW CBS 3 – Lewiston, ID The Asotin County Auditor’s Office has sent out new ballots to fix a registration issue. It all started when a concerned citizen brought in his tax information. “His voter registration card showed that he was registered…
AK: APNewsBreak: Election review could be done soon: AP Alaska | adn.com An internal review of the 2010 election that left Alaska’s historic U.S. Senate race in limbo for nearly two months should be mostly completed within 45 days, Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said Tuesday. Read More CO: Ranked Voting Method Request for Written…
There is an extremely high volume of coverage both of the Illinois Supreme Court’s order regarding the Chicago mayoral election and of the photo ID debate in the Texas Senate. We have included a small sampling of articles on each of these issue. Photo ID legislation appears to be a fait accompli in Texas, though…
A busy couple of days for voting news. In Texas, the State Senate will debate photo ID legislation tomorrow, and is expected to pass the bill. An citizen audit of South Carolina election results raises questions about ballot reconciliation. A bill to allow all Indiana counties to utilize vote centers is expected to pass, and…
In Texas, the Governor has declared that photo ID legislation is an emergency measure, and the Texas Senate has made an exception to a two-thirds-majority requirement for a photo ID bill. Colorado’s Secretary of State has announced that he will engage in a private law practice during his term. Photo ID legislation is being sharply…
AZ: Arizona court urged to decide redistricting issue – KSWT A former Arizona Supreme Court justice is urging current justices to decide whether three nominees for the state redistricting commission are eligible for appointment. Former Justice Stanley Feldman represents supporters nominee Paul Bender, an Arizona State University law professor. Republican legislative leaders say Bender is…
In the Carolinas, Texas, Wisconsin, photo ID legislation is on the move. In New York State, a robust debate continues over the conduct of recounts and routine audits. Another Canadian jurisdictions is eyeing online voting in 20011, and in India, computer technologist Hari Prasad has been released on bail. All this and more in today’s…
There are several noteworthy Internet voting stories today. In Canada, two opinion pieces demonstrate increasing knowledge of the challenges of Internet voting: the Vancouver Sun acknowledges the security and ballot-anonymity issues and concludes that both Internet voting and the successful resolution of its challenges are inevitable; in the Globe and Mail, journalist Robert Matas notes…
In British Columbia, Canada, some Liberal Party officials are calling for online voting in upcoming provincial elections. Iowa’s new Secretary of State is urging the Governor-elect to rescind an order restoring the voting rights of ex-felons, and Ohio’s new Secretary of State took office today. And in Washington State, sponsors expect passage of a bill…
In Washington, a bill to allow all military and overseas voters to vote by fax or e-mail cleared cleared its House committee. Connecticut watchdog groups have issued a report on the Bridgeport recount, and Vancouver looks at Internet voting for November municipal elections. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. CT: Bridgeport Recount…
CA: Report Finds Ranked Choice Voting Causes Confusion, Fatigue In SF’s District 10: News: SFAppeal Ranked choice voting, otherwise known as instant run-off, has been used in San Francisco elections since 2004. This past November’s elections marked the first time it was used in Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro. California Watch analyzed the voting data…
We at Verified Voting extend our thoughts and prayers to the victims of the tragedy in Arizona and their loved ones. Tonight’s edition includes an important story about the Department of Labor’s new guidelines for electronic voting in union elections; several editorials on the question of voter ID [Editor’s Note: the editorials on voter ID…
“In many cases, we see security devices or electronic voting machines where we really have to wonder, ‘Did anybody spend 60 seconds figuring out the security issues?” That question was posed by an Argonne National Laboratories security expert in an interview published today. There is a good deal of news to share today: Oklahoma has…
Montana’s Legislature will once again consider vote by mail legislation, Missouri’s will consider early voting, and unopened ballots may change a recount result in New Jersey. All this and more in today’s Voting News below. AR: Martin names top aids for secretary of state’s office Martin announced his leadership team Thursday, including Family Council lawyer…
AK: Miller Will Not Appeal Federal Ruling; Concedes Alaska’s U.S. Senate Race to Murkowski – The BRAD BLOG (Dec. 31) In a press conference held this afternoon in Juneau, Alaska’s GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate, Joe Miller, finally conceded the election to write-in candidate and incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. He has decided not…
CA: Secetrary of State Bowen unveils four-year strategic plan – Kim Alexander’s Weblog http://kimalex.blogspot.com/2011/01/sos-bowen-unveils-four-year-strategic.html At her inauguration ceremony today, Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced that her office was implementing a four-year strategic plan focused on three priorities: ensuring fair and secure elections, doing business, and protecting rights and state treasures. She also listed six…
Happy New Year! The first few days of 2011 have been busy news days (despite apparent quiet regarding Internet voting). Tonight’s edition covers articles published since our December 31 edition, unless otherwise noted. Among the news highlights: Oklahoma election officials are looking to replace their 18-year-old optical scanners with new precinct scanners for the 2012…
Alaska’s US Senate race appears to have ended as 2010 winds down. Georgia’s Secretary of State says that a new appointed election reform advisory panel will look at vote centers and ways to achieve cost savings, and New York’s new voting system, and its implementation receive ongoing scrutiny. All this and more in today’s Voting…
The Swiss federal government expresses caution about Internet voting and limits its scope, while some local officials push for expanded Internet voting. India’s political parties reportedly agree to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) going forward and the Election Commission has appointed a technical committee to study voter-verifiable paper records. On a more local but important…
Iowa election officials reach an agreement to close the books on the EAC audit of Iowa’s HAVA funds, the Albany Times-Union calls for an automatic recount law for New York State, and security experts predict Stuxnet-like viruses to infect electronic voting systems in the near future. [Editor’s Note: If you have suggestions for articles to…
A lighter news day for electronic voting issues. Close state legislative elections in Texas and Missouri remain contentious, a Federal Court rules on the challenge to the U.S. Senate election in Alaska. All this and more in today’s voting news below. AK: ‘Election Integrity is Vital’: Joe Miller Makes a Federal Case Out of it…