Editorials: Tonyaa Weathersbee: Déja Vu – New Florida Law Hinders Voting Rights of Blacks, Poor | New America Media

Back in 2006, when the 1965 Voting Rights Act was up for renewal, a number of Republican lawmakers protested that its time had passed; that the states and municipalities that once worked to keep blacks away from the polls and locked into second-class citizenry had learned their lesson.

But it’s a lesson in which Florida Gov. Rick Scott and his GOP brethren are sorely in need of remediation.

Recently, Scott signed into law a bill that must be the most blatant attempt at limiting the access of black and poor people to the polls since the days when they were asked to guess how many bubbles were in a bar of soap.

Editorials: Editorial: ‘Don`t mess with TCI’s voting system’ | Turks and Caicos SUN Newspaper

Many locals reject UK’s plan to move from the traditional first-past-the-post system. Residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands have made it abundantly clear to officials from Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and by extension, the United Kingdom (UK) Government, that they have no appetite for any proposed changes to the current voting system that is being used to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) and governments.

This was one of the main points that emerged from the serious of consultative meetings which were held in the various islands by a team of high-level FCO experts over the past week.

Editorials: Ida Eskamani: Voting is a right, not a restrictive privilege | Central Florida Future

We have a basic right here in the United States. It’s called voting.

It might sound familiar to you. It guarantees that each individual, regardless of age or status, has a say in his or her government. Does this ring a bell?

Well thanks to Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican legislature, that right is now a privilege. Last Thursday, Scott signed a bill into law that dismantles the Democratic process in Florida, and will undoubtedly disenfranchise many voters, especially students.

Editorials: Vote-killing regulations in Florida | TBO.com

“It doesn’t matter who the losing political party is. The scheme is an affront to democracy.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott hates regulations. Indeed, the phrase “job-killing regulations” has become a virtual motto. But while he has little use for rules intended to protect the public health, consumers or the environment, he doesn’t object to “vote-killing” regulations.

The governor last week signed legislation aimed at making it tougher for the young and the poor to vote. The legislation prevents people who have moved from another county from changing their address at the polls, as they have been able to do for 40 years. They now will be forced to cast a provisional ballot.

Editorials: Paul Lux: Florida’s new voting law and what it means | Northwest Florida Daily News

I recently spoke at the State of the County event hosted by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. I likened some of the changes in election law made by HB 1355 to a five-ring circus, and focused on issues that I felt voters needed to better understand: early voting, address changes on election day, third-party voter registration organizations, the Presidential Preference Primary, and the full-text option for joint resolutions to amend the Florida Constitution.

After reading the Daily News’ May 17 editorial, “A fight over Florida voter rights,” I decided that voters really needed to hear a detailed explanation of what some of the changes made by HB 1355 mean to them, from the person who will be responsible for implementing those changes. Cue the calliope.

Editorials: League of Women voters response to Florida Election Bill | Lehigh Acres Citizen

The League of Women Voters of Florida is gravely disappointed by Governor Rick Scott’s decision to approve HB 1355, a controversial elections bill that the League considers an assault on voters.

By signing HB 1355, the governor indicated his support for burdensome and unnecessary regulations that will make it more difficult for eligible voters to get registered and cast a ballot in the state of Florida.

Our League president Deirdre Macnab said that Gov. Scott is taking Florida back in time today, with his approval of cumbersome regulations that will make it harder for eligible Floridians to be engaged and active in their government. She said this is extremely disappointing in a state like Florida, which had made many improvements to its electoral system in recent years.

Editorials: Shorter early voting costlier? Just say no! | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper

If all other reasons for pulling the plug on a bill that would shrink the early voting period fail to persuade N.C. lawmakers, this one should do the trick. The bill, which would deprive voters of the flexibility to cast ballots during an extended early voting period before Election Day, would increase the cost of elections.

You read that right – increase the cost.

That’s what Gary Bartlett, executive director of the state elections board, said in a memo last week. Mecklenburg County Elections Director Michael Dickerson made similar comments. He said 45,000 county voters voted in the first week of early voting here in Mecklenburg County in 2008. If there is a shorter voting period in 2012, he might ask his board to open 30 voting sites, 10 more than in 2008, to avoid longer lines.

Editorials: Push for voter ID is a threat to turnout in Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Inquirer

Last week’s relatively problem-free Pennsylvania primary was the latest to demonstrate that requiring photo identification at the polls is a solution in search of a problem. People simply don’t risk prison time to impersonate other voters. In 2008, more than six million Pennsylvanians went to the polls for the presidential election, and only four were charged with misrepresentation.

So why did the House State Government Committee recently approve a bill to require photo ID of Pennsylvania voters, a program that would cost more than $11 million to initiate and millions more to run each year?

The county clerks responsible for administering the state’s elections say the legislation is a bad idea.

Editorials: Kris W. Kobach: The Case for Voter ID | Wall Street Journal

On Thursday, the Wisconsin legislature sent a bill requiring photographic identification for voting to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk. This follows the enactment of an even stricter law in Kansas a few weeks ago.

Drafted by my office, Kansas’s Secure and Fair Elections Act combined three elements: (1) a requirement that voters present photo IDs when they vote in person; (2) a requirement that absentee voters present a full driver’s license number and have their signatures verified; and (3) a proof of citizenship requirement for all newly registered voters. Although a few states, including Georgia, Indiana and Arizona, have enacted one or two of these reforms, Kansas is the only state to enact all three.

Editorials: Steve Sebelius: A bad ruling on Nevada special House election | ReviewJournal.com

Simply put, Carson City District Judge James Todd Russell is flat wrong about the special election for the 2nd Congressional District. Which is why it’s a good thing that Secretary of State Ross Miller announced late Friday he would appeal this wrongheaded ruling to the state Supreme Court.

In the meantime, candidate filings schedule for next week will be postponed while the appeal is prepared.

Some background: After Rep. Dean Heller was appointed to John Ensign’s Senate seat, a special election was called to replace Heller in the House of Representatives. Miller issued regulations for that special election — a first in Nevada history — based on a 2003 statute that appears to allow a wide-open, anybody-can-run, no-primary, winner-takes-all election. The Nevada Republican Party sued, claiming political parties should nominate candidates for the special election.

Editorials: Jim Buchanan: Raleigh does voters no favors trying to curb early voting | The Asheville Citizen-Times

It’s been a busy couple of weeks on the election front — specifically, the voting front — down in Raleigh and at other points on the compass.

The NC House, in a 60-58 vote, OK’d a bill to shorten the early voting period in the state. Bad, no good, horrible call, in my view. It’s pitched as a cost-saving move, but it just looks like a formula for creating bottlenecks, aggravation and frustrated voters. A similar measure in the NC Senate goes further, ending Sunday voting and registration of new voters at the polls.

Editorials: Opinion: Pennsylvania Voter ID proposal a waste of time | Centre Daily Times

Boss Tweed likely would have had a good chuckle over proposals in Pennsylvania to require every person casting an election ballot to present photo identification. The legendary New York City political boss knew a thing or two about fraud and political smokescreens: two things at play in regard to the legislation being considered in the state House.

Reducing voter fraud at the ballot box is supposedly the main concept behind this idea. If every voter has to produce a photo issued by the state of Pennsylvania or the federal government — don’t you just feel better already — there will be no doubt the voter is who he or she says they are.

Editorials: Kurt Browning: Combating fraud while preserving access to the polls | Palm Beach Post

One of my most important responsibilities as your secretary of state is preserving the integrity of the voting process in Florida while increasing access to the ballot box. The right to vote is one of the most obvious symbols of our nation’s freedom. Americans must have confidence in the electoral process we use to choose our local, state and national leaders.

Legislators also take this responsibility seriously, and sent an important reform bill to Gov. Scott, who signed it Thursday afternoon. The bill makes early voting more accessible, by expanding the number of hours that election supervisors can open early voting sites from just eight hours per day to 12.

Editorials: Statement from Howard Simon on Voter Suppression Act of 2011 Being Signed into Law by Governor Scott | ACLU

If it weren’t so grotesquely un-American, you’d almost want to congratulate them for the audacity and efficiency of the attack. Governor Scott and the anti-civil liberties State Legislature have achieved an astonishing voter suppression trifecta. With just one bill, they made it harder to register to vote, harder to cast your vote, and harder to have your vote counted.

The right to participate in a fair election is the backbone of our democracy, and election laws are supposed to protect that right by making our elections fair and transparent. The current regime in Tallahassee wrongly sees voting as a privilege rather than the fundamental right that it is. They feel free to manipulate the voting process and use election laws as a weapon to against Floridians whose rights are inconvenient to their power.

Editorials: Tallahassee meddling in voting rights – Editorial | MiamiHerald.com

Whatever happens Tuesday when voters are to pick Miami-Dade’s next mayor and two commissioners — plus various proposed county charter changes — will you be able to say that your choices were considered because you voted?

Too few registered voters can say that today. Yet they will be the first to gripe about the winners in the May 24 special election. They’ll complain that county government is broken, and that they don’t vote because the fix is in.

Editorials: Kitty Kent: If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Make Sure They Can’t Vote | Associated Content

In state after Republican-controlled state (now more than two-thirds of all states), there’s a tactical imperative high on the legislative agenda. No, it’s not job creation; it is, in fact, more

along the lines of empire creation. That lofty ideal of the “permanent Republican majority” is again enjoying a chilling resurgence. Under the guise of prevention of “voter fraud,” onerous and costly “voter ID” bills are in various stages of life in state houses across the country, reports the New York Times. In a few states, bills have already passed and are law.

Editorials: John Nichols: Effort to thwart Southern-style voter suppression necessary and appropriate | madison.com

State Senate Democrats used a procedural maneuver earlier this week to block the final roll call on the voter ID bill that Gov. Scott Walker and his allies have advanced in order to game the political process to favor their chosen candidates. The Democratic moves delayed the Senate vote until today, when it is likely that the Republican-controlled Senate will approve what can only be described as an assault on Wisconsin tradition of encouraging high levels of voter participation.

The wrangling of the moment between Republicans and Democrats has made this seem like a partisan struggle. But it is not really that. The Wisconsin Republicans of not too many years ago would have joined Democrats in opposing this bill. That’s because Wisconsin has a history of bipartisan commitment to expanding the franchise, not narrowing it.

Editorials: Carl Bialik: The Mathematical Debate Over Instant Runoff and Other Alternative Voting Systems | Wall Street Journal

My print column this week examines the debate over voting systems that theorists and reformers have backed to replace the system prevalent in the U.S. and many other places, in which each voter gets one vote and the candidate with the most votes wins. Among possible alternative systems include some where voters rank candidates and others where they assign candidates scores.

Instant runoff, the focus of my column, has gotten the most traction so far. But some mathematicians point out that the system could give rise to various troubling results. Two significant ones: Voters who decide to shift their support from one candidate to a second can hurt that second candidate; and voters can get a worse outcome if they choose to show up to the polls, inadvertently helping their least-favorite candidate (the no-show paradox). Robert Z. Norman, Dartmouth College professor emeritus of mathematics, has simulated three-candidate elections in which each candidate has at least 25% of support and finds that each of these apparent paradoxes occur about one in five times.

Editorials: Teh Tarik: Majority vote | The Star Online

Following the rationale of one man, one vote, should not the outcome of an election reflect the true will of the people? Is it really fair? In Singapore’s elections last week, the People’s Action Party won 81 out of 87 seats even though only about 60% of voters chose it. Yes, the island republic officially has “democracy”, but the other 40% could be wondering if their views will count for much at all.

Democracy and elections are imperfect creatures which have slowly evolved over time.

Editorials: Our view: Reject plan to require Voter ID | St. Cloud Times

Despite no credible evidence voter fraud exists on more than a minuscule scale, Republican majorities in the House and Senate are pushing for a showdown on Voter ID, first with Gov. Mark Dayton this session and then with Minnesota voters in 2012. Dayton should reject this legislation, and Minnesota voters should do the same in 2012.

We’ve opposed such measures since at least 2006, and we continue to do so simply because if applied, they will discourage — yes, even disenfranchise — many more honest Minnesota voters than the dishonest voters they will supposedly catch. (If they even can catch people; after all, look how effective photo IDs are in stopping minors from mayhem or catching illegal immigrants.)

Editorials: Editorial: Mixed Member Proportional system deserves to survive referendum | NZ Herald News

The result of a British referendum on its electoral system shows how remarkable it was that New Zealand adopted MMP – and how much referendums are influenced by the mood of the moment. British voters have chosen to retain first past the post by 68 per cent to 32 per cent for a proposal called the Alternative Vote.

The result is devastating for electoral reform in Britain, burying the subject for another generation in the view of most commentators, and immediately devastating for Britain’s third party, the Liberal Democrats. The referendum was their main purpose in joining a coalition with the Conservatives.

Editorials: Craig Gilbert: Straight-ticket voting in Wisconsin and the move to abolish it | JSOnline

Last fall’s Republican wave in Wisconsin featured a surge in straight-party voting. In some places, close to half the electorate used the “straight-ticket” option on the ballot. And in most counties that keep track of it, those straight-ticket voters were disproportionately Republican.

Yet it’s the GOP that is now poised to abolish straight-ticket voting, a longstanding feature of Wisconsin elections that lets voters choose a party’s entire slate of candidates instead of picking individual contestants race by race. What’s the case for ending straight-ticket voting? Which party would benefit? How many people actually vote this way?

Editorials: Security Breach With Found Votes in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race | PoliticusUSA.com

You recall the “found” votes in Brookfield City that Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus added to her off-system computer a day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court election results and failed to tell the election canvassers about for two days, right?

Those votes swung the election to the Republican, Prosser, by around 7,000 votes with a total of 14,000 votes being found after Nickolaus forgot to hit “save” after manually inputting the numbers. Nickolaus, who used to be the computer analyst for the GOP assembly, has a sordid history with the law already, having been granted immunity in a criminal investigation resulting from her work for the GOP assembly. Furthermore, her election security process has been roundly criticized even by Republicans. This is not her first rodeo with found votes that swung an election, either.

Editorials: Editorial: Improve all aspects of voting process | Sheboygan Press

Instead of spending $2 million or more to implement a voter ID law in Wisconsin, the state should be spending that money on improving the overall voting process in the state. Lawmakers are getting ready to vote on a measure that would require everyone who wants to vote to show a valid identification card with a photo on it before he or she is given a ballot.

The Republican sponsors of the measure, including Sen. Joe Leibham of Sheboygan, contend voter ID is necessary to ensure that fraudulent votes aren’t cast. The bill’s sponsors make these claims despite only a handful of voter fraud prosecutions in recent years. In order to pass constitutional muster and the ban on a poll tax, the measure provides for the issuance of free ID cards to those who don’t already have an acceptable photo ID. The estimated cost of this provision is $2.7 million.

Editorials: Chris Telesca: Budget puts N.C.’s elections at risk | NewsObserver.com

North Carolina currently ranks high in election integrity, but it wasn’t always so. Prior to 2000, we had no uniform standards for voting systems and election administration. Our 100 counties used 18 different types of voting machines, some nearly 40 years old. Four suppliers of the machines were no longer in business, maintenance was limited, vendor support was sparse and security was a joke.

Training for poll workers and election staff was disjointed and incomplete. All counties did their own thing with ballot printing, and few complied with federal laws and standards. So, in 2004, we had a Florida-style meltdown, with the loss of nearly 5,000 votes in Carteret County, machines crashing, votes missing or counted twice by accident, etc. These were largely systemic problems that came from not having or complying with standards for election integrity.

Editorials: Charles Zelden: Changes in election law remind us of another era | floridatoday.com

Recent events remind us that Florida truly is a Southern state. Legislation that would radically revise Florida’s election laws was passed Thursday by the Senate SB 1355 and now is headed back to the House for likely fast-tracked approval.

These changes include: shrinking the early-voting period by half, from two weeks to one, removing provisions in place since the 1970s that allow registered voters to change their names and addresses in elections records on Election Day and still vote using a regular ballot, allowing poll watchers to challenge the legitimacy of voters, which would automatically require those voters to fill out provisional ballots, which are less likely to be counted than standard ballots, and severely restricting the ability of grass-roots groups to register new voters by enacting new restrictions and fines.

Editorials: Voter ID – an idea worse than it seems | StarTribune.com

“I think it’s a privilege. It’s not a right,” Minnesota GOP House Speaker Kurt Zellers said about voting during an Easter recess radio interview.

He soon backtracked, as opponents of a GOP-sponsored change in voting requirements pounced on his words.Zellers did well to recant. No other individual right is as clearly guaranteed in the state and federal constitutions to all citizens of eligible age and residency. This state’s nation-leading voter turnout attests to how deeply Minnesotans value that promise.

Yet whether intentional or not, Zellers’ misstatement aptly describes the consequences of a GOP initiative that’s likely to land on the 2012 ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment. It would make voting harder for thousands of Minnesotans — those who are already underrepresented at the polls.

Editorials: Chris Kromm: The new war on voting rights | Facing South

Last November, the big themes of the 2010 elections were jobs and the economy. But in states across the South and country, many of the most pitched legislative battles have focused on another issue entirely: voting rights.

With Republicans taking power or strengthening their hand in many state legislatures — and the 2012 elections looming on the horizon — GOP leaders are seizing the opportunity to push a raft of measures they claim will restore integrity to the voting process.

But the new voting bills share some important features: They all work to restrict the franchise and shrink the electorate — in most cases, in ways that would decrease Democratic votes.

Editorials: Senator Roy Harron: Tennessee needs paper trail for every vote | The Commercial Appeal

In 2008 the Tennessee legislature voted almost unanimously to make elections more secure, dependable and trustworthy by requiring a verifiable paper trail for each vote. The step was long overdue — more than 30 states already have such security measures.

But three years later, secure elections in Tennessee remain at risk and voters may never know if their votes are counted.

If legislative Republicans’ march toward passing a bill that would effectively repeal the Voter Confidence Act succeeds, it would be a devastating blow to democracy in Tennessee. The electronic voting machines used in 93 of our 95 counties are so vulnerable to fraud and thievery that they can steal your vote even before you cast your ballot.

Editorials: Thomas Bates: Why Photo ID Laws Are Not the Answer | Huffington Post

We hear it all the time: How can you be against making voters show a photo ID when they vote? You need an ID to do almost anything in today’s society — buying beer, driving a car, getting on an airplane, going to an R-rated movie — so why shouldn’t you have to show a government-issued photo ID to vote?

It sure sounds like common sense, and it is a sentiment, coupled with the specter of voter fraud, that has driven more than 30 state legislatures this year to consider requiring limited forms of government-issued photo ID at the polls, prompting the Washington Post and New York Times to question why the country is fighting what is essentially a war on voting.

The rub: Strict photo ID laws result in disenfranchisement, unnecessary costs, and unequal treatment of voters and simply are not a proportionate response to any legitimate concerns about potential voter fraud. What may seem like common sense is actually a real barrier for those who want to participate, and a significant expense to all of us.