Texas: Officials confirm irregularity in Rowlett special election | dallasnews.com

Elections officials confirmed Wednesday that there was an opening-day glitch in the early voting process for the July 16 special election. The glitch involved voters in Rowlett, which straddles Dallas and Rockwall counties.

A voter who lives in the Rockwall County part of Rowlett, Nicholas Kreekon, went to vote at about 12:15 p.m. on June 29 and was turned away. He was told only the Dallas County portion of Rowlett was eligible.

Texas: State Supreme Court: no e-voting paper trail required | Ars Technica

A group of Texas voters seeking to stop the use of paperless electronic voting machines reached a dead end on Friday; the Texas Supreme Court ruled that their suits could not proceed without evidence that they have been personally harmed.

Texas has been using direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines for more than a decade. In 2006, a coalition of voters led by the Austin NAACP sued to stop Travis County from using the eSlate, a DRE machine made by Austin-based Hart InterCivic. (Hart does offer a printer as an optional component of its system.) The voters claimed the machines were insecure and did not allow meaningful recounts.

Travis County disagreed. In a FAQ on the county's voting website, officials answered questions about paper trails and security.

Texas: Texas Supreme Court tosses NAACP challenge of electronic voting machines | Examiner.com

The Texas Supreme Court has thrown out a case challenging the legality of electronic voting machines in Travis County that don’t also produce a paper trail of votes.

In a ruling released July 1, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson wrote that the voters who complained about the machines “raise legitimate concerns about system integrity and vulnerability. But these are policy disputes more appropriately resolved in the give-and-take of politics.”

Jefferson’s opinion came in a lawsuit brought by Texas Secretary of State Esperanza “Hope” Andrade, the state’s chief elections officer. Andrade sought to overturn an appellate court’s ruling that kept alive the challenge to “paperless” electronic voting machines used in Travis County elections. Travis County’s eSlate machines are produced by Austin-based Hart InterCivic Inc.

Texas: So Many Elections, So Little Time | The Austin Chronicle

And now for some completely different election news: A seemingly innocuous Texas Senate bill, passed and awaiting the governor's signature, may drastically affect Austin's local elections, even extending the terms of the mayor and three City Council members by six months.

Senate Bill 100, legislation from San Antonio Dem Leticia Van de Putte, was drafted to bring the state in line with federal law requiring that federal ballots be delivered to military and overseas voters at least 45 days before an election. It preserves Texas' current March primary date, while postponing potential primary run-offs to the fourth Tuesday in May, so as to meet the 45-day requirement.

Editorials: Voter ID bills take stage | Amarillo Globe-News

The next great presidential election battle could turn on a simple and reasonable concept: Voters should be required to present valid identification before casting a ballot. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation requiring a valid photo ID from Texas voters.

In many so-called "battleground states," in which Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will fight for an edge over the other, this has become a potentially huge issue.

Texas: Floor Amendment to Texas SB 100 Preserves May Uniform Election Date in Limited Circumstances | The Austin Chronicle/Texas Municipal League

It's slow going at City Hall. No City Council meeting, and a Public Health committee meeting on nonprofits has been postponed to next week. It's worth looking outside City Hall for action – and luckily, action obliged, as a state senate bill looks to throw local elections into chaos.

S.B. 100 from San Antonio Dem Leticia Van de Putte, brings the state in line with federal law requiring federal ballots be delivered to military and overseas voters at least 45 days before the election. It preserves Texas' current March primary date, while lengthening any primary run-off by the 45 day requirement, to the fourth Tuesday in May.

Texas: Perry’s Provocative Push Back | Technorati

Governor Rick Perry of Texas today signed into law "voter ID" legislation which requires polling places within the state to verify the identity of potential voters with a photo identification card. Voter ID laws are designed primarily to address voter fraud and prevent ineligible citizens, or non-citizens, such as criminal aliens, from participating in elections. Twelve states, including Texas, now have voter ID laws which require photo identification.  Seventeen additional states have similar laws which require a form of identification, but not a photo.

Editorials: John Tanner: Why voter ID won’t fly in Texas | statesman.com

It has started again. Proponents of voter ID requirements are preparing another push, confident that the law is on their side. In fact, they are backing into a buzz saw.

On the surface, the pro-ID group has reason to be complacent. It won in the Supreme Court in Indiana, which had the most restrictive ID requirement in the nation, and also in Georgia. Those states, however, are a world away from Texas.

Texas: After Six-Year Fight, Perry Signs Texas Voter ID into Law | Texas Observer

After six years of fierce partisan battling, the legislative war over voter ID in Texas is officially over. Gov. Rick Perry signed the voter ID bill into law this morning. The legislation requires voters to present one of five acceptable forms of photo ID—a drivers license, military ID, passport, concealed handgun license or a special voter ID card provided free of charge by the state. Gov. Perry designated voter ID as an “emergency item” early in the session, giving it particular priority as lawmakers rushed it through the legislative process.

… The bill signed today enacts a voter ID law more stringent than its counterparts in other states. Unlike Indiana's law—which the bill was largely based on—Texas' voter ID law doesn't recognize student IDs as acceptable forms of voter identification and it gives people with a missing an ID only six days to produce one in order for their vote to count.

Texas: Texas Passes Voter Photo-ID Law | Bloomberg

Texas joined South Carolina and Wisconsin in passing a bill to curb vote fraud by demanding photo identification before letting someone cast a ballot. Republican Governor Rick Perry plans to sign the measure tomorrow, according to an e-mailed statement today. The second most-populous state joins six others including Florida and Indiana that demand a photo ID from voters at the polls.

Opponents plan to challenge the measure in court, said Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project. The Austin-based nonprofit group, which advocates on behalf of minorities, says the law is unconstitutional and aimed at making it harder for Latinos to vote. Republicans who dominate the Legislature say it will survive judicial review.

Texas: Possible voting-date complications remain with Texas absentee voting changes | dallasnews.com

Questions as to whether Texas might move its primary from March into April appeared resolved late on Tuesday when the House amended a voting bill to keep the March primary intact. Turns out the uncertainty might not be over quite yet. Under the current arrangement, local May elections and early voting for primary runoffs would be just two days apart.

Senate Bill 100, which passed the House on third reading Wednesday, is aimed at trying to make it easier for military and overseas voters to cast absentee ballots. Federal law requires that Texas make the changes.

Texas: Harris County voting machine fire not arson | Chron.com

A fire that destroyed 10,000 Harris County voting machines last August was the result of an electrical short, not arson, said Kevin Brolan, acting deputy chief of the Houston Fire Department’s arson division.

The fire, coming as it did just weeks before the start of early voting last fall, gave rise to speculation of arson with a political motive.

Texas: Port Arthur Texas explains election night results delay | PAnews.com

One of the largest elections in the city’s recent history could have played a part in slow elections results coming from Port Arthur on May 14, city officials said. The city of Port Arthur’s election night performance has been a source of concern for some, and prompted city officials to issue a statement of explanation.

Acting City Secretary Sherri Bellard and Acting Assistant City Secretary Kelly Moore issued a press release Friday in response to concerns that election results were not made available until about 11 p.m., an hour or longer than other area cities on May 14.

Texas: Candidate to contest election results in Port Arthur Texas | PAnews.com

After losing her bid for a seat on the Port Arthur school board, Julia Samuels is charging foul and plans to contest election results. Samuels told The News on Tuesday that she believes the Saturday’s election was riddled with irregularities, or even corruption.

“I would use the word “corruption” with ease,” Samuels said. “This has to stop.” Samuels cited several problems with the election process that she believes may have cost her votes, beginning with the accuracy of the electronic machines used to cast ballots. [Jefferson County uses ES&S iVotronic touchscreen voting machines]

“I never did trust the electronic machines,” she said.

Texas: Corpus Christi Texas Councilwoman asks for recount, investigation after 3 votes force runoff | Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Councilwoman Priscilla Leal wants a recount of Saturday’s election results and a state investigation into alleged voting problems in her district. Leal, who is seeking her fourth term as the District 3 representative, was forced into a runoff by three votes. She received 1,016 votes to challenger Roland Barrera’s 921 and Rose Marie Soto’s 99, according to complete, unofficial returns. Leal and Barrera will be in a runoff election June 11.

Leal met with City Secretary Armando Chapa late Monday afternoon to discuss her options and register complains about voting irregularities. 

National: U.S. Supreme Court Advances one Election Law Case that has Long been Stalled | Ballot Access News

On May 11, the U.S. Supreme Court revealed that it has placed Dallas County v Texas Democratic Party, 10-755, on its May 26 conference. The conference will probably decide whether to hear the case.

The issue is whether Dallas County’s new rules concerning its vote-counting machines should have been submitted to the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department. The Texas Democratic Party doesn’t like the Dallas County vote-counting machines, because the machines have a tendency to trick some voters into voting just for a single candidate, even though the voter believes he or she has activated the straight-ticket device and has voted for all partisan office.

Texas: Texas voter ID appears to be headed to governor to become law | Texas Legislature News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News

Legislation that would require Texans to show a photo ID before voting was given final approval by the Senate on Monday, with the House expected to sign on later and send the bill to the governor. Senators approved the measure 19-12 along partisan lines, signaling the apparent victory in a long effort by Republicans to require voters to prove their identity before casting a ballot.

Democrats had managed to defeat the proposal in the last few legislative sessions, relying on parliamentary maneuvers and a large number of House Democrats. But that changed after last fall’s elections, when Republicans emerged with a supermajority in the House.

Texas: Restrictions on out-of-state voter registration pass in Texas | dallasnews.com

An elections bill by Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, has a very broad caption – “relating to certain election procedures and practices” – and is subsequently beginning to look like a Christmas tree.

For legislative lingo novices, that means lots of bills that haven’t made it to the floor yet are being hung on the bill as amendments.”This should have never happened,” said Rep. Marc Veasy, D-Fort Worth, a member of the House Elections Committee who helped kill some of them in committee, after the bill passed with no fewer than 17 bills/amendments, some of which had gotten no hearing.

Texas: Texas Voter ID bill goes to Conference Committee | texasobserver.org

After passing both the House and Senate, the contentious Senate voter ID bill returned to the upper chamber with a variety of House amendments. Rather than accept the House’s tweaks to the measure, the Senate sent the bill to conference committee, where five members of each chamber will iron out the differences between the versions.

Despite the differences, either version would give Texas one of the toughest voter ID laws in the country. While there was little debate, the bill’s author, Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay,said afterwards that he wasn’t happy with some of the changes. “There were things on the bill that we would want to potentially take off,” Fraser said.

Texas: New Texas law requiring voter photo identification criticized | Laredo Sun

The impending law requiring voter photo identification was considered by Democrats as a political move so that fewer Hispanics go to vote when elections are held. “It’s just that, a political move aimed at creating difficulties for members of minorities to vote.

This is something that Republicans have long sought to remove power for the Latino vote,” said Sergio Mora, president of the Democratic Party in Webb. He said Governor Rick Perry declared this bill as an emergency in Texas Congress, knowing that there are really serious and severe problems in the state as the budget deficit and cuts to education.

Texas: Texas House panel approves voter ID bill | The Dallas Morning News

Legislation that would for the first time require Texans to show a photo ID to vote was approved by a House committee on Monday and sent to the full House, where it is expected to easily pass.

The voter ID bill, which already has been approved by the Senate, was approved by the House Select Committee on Voter Identification and Voter Fraud on a 5-2 vote, with Democrats Marc Veasey of Fort Worth and Scott Hochberg of Houston casting the no votes.