Florida rules leave too many voteless. FL’s “no match no vote” rule allows clerical errors to disenfranchise voters….Open source voting machines—an opportunity for Hawaii…Want to know about problems with Voting By Mail?…Money in politics? Congressional candidates raised $1.42 BILLION IN 2007-2008…The Role of Twitter in the Iran Elections of 2009
All this and more in the voting news below….
CO: LTE. Is IRV too complicated?
http://bit.ly/6rxnC5
…The May 5 election night video and written material found online raise some questions. Considering the apparent missteps and controversy surrounding that election, will Aspen continue to use IRV for future mayoral and City Council elections? If so, will private contractors again be brought in to conduct the elections?
FL: Florida rules leave too many voteless
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/florida-rules-leave-too-many-voteless/1059886
Sunday, December 20, 2009 …Florida’s “No Match, No Vote” law denies voter registration to any applicant whose registration form doesn’t match either the Social Security or Florida’s driver’s license databases. Sometimes it’s a bureaucratic error that causes the problem. Sometimes voters transpose a number or list a nickname. But last year, results showed the stringent requirement disproportionately impacted Hispanics and African-Americans seeking to register in Florida. Unless they took the time and effort to follow up after being notified of the problem, they couldn’t vote or else cast a provisional ballot that was later rejected.
FL: Collier, Lee counties helping state restore voting rights to felons
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/dec/29/collier-lee-counties-helping-state-restore-voting-/
December 29, 2009 The initiative is in response to an August 2008 executive order from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist so the state can speed up restoration of civil rights, including the right to vote.
…
For more information about the program, go to www.FLRestoreMyRights.com
FL: Supervisor Of Election’s Facebook Hacked
http://www.news4jax.com/news/22082964/detail.html
Jerry Holland Says E-Mail Sent Leading People To Virus
GA: Georgia VoteSafe gets OK
Dec 29, 2009 News release from the Secretary of State’s Office
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11743662
…The Georgia VoteSafe Program provides for the confidentiality of residence address of certain registered voters who have been, or may be, subject to acts of family violence, stalking or currently reside in a family violence shelter.
HI: Open source voting machines—an opportunity for Hawaii
http://disappearednews.com/2009/12/open-source-voting-machinesan.html
Hawaii could save money, create jobs, recycle many old computers, and protect the integrity of its vote by choosing to participate in an open-source voting project. I’ve mentioned this before, but this time there are details.
HI: Panel picks interim chief elections officer
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/80362412.html
Scott Nago has been with the Office of Elections since 1997
The state Elections Commission this morning chose Scott Nago as the interim chief elections officer, replacing Kevin Cronin, who abruptly resigned early this month.
ID: Man admits to voting twice *
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005129395
The Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had alleged that Coiner voted in 2008by absentee ballot in Twin Falls County and again in person in Blaine County.
After Coiner pleaded guilty, Judge Jason Walker sentenced him to one-year unsupervised probation and 40 hours community service. Coiner was also fined $300 plus $75 court costs. The crime of “attempting to vote when not qualified” is punishable in Idaho by up to six months in jail.
LA: Voting Rights Complaint Filed Against Mayor
http://www.wdsu.com/politics/22083275/detail.html
Louisiana Justice Institute Protests Friday Closure Of City Hall
NEW ORLEANS — A local justice group has filed a federal voting rights complaint against the mayor and the city, claiming that closing City Hall on Fridays would prevent residents from early voting in the municipal elections in 2010.
…
Nagin spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett said the city has worked out a deal with the registrar’s office. The registrar will have its own entrance open on Fridays during early voting, and that office will pay for its own security detail.
NC: Hearings set on proposed changes to Harnett voting precincts
http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/12/29/963759
Board member Walter Massey said he supports the change but guaranteed the board would consider the public’s input.
NC: Topsail Beach voter fraud investigation ends without any charges
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20091230/ARTICLES/912309964?Title=Topsail-Beach-voter-fraud-investigation-ends-without-any-charges
NY: Asks county to probe why records labeled voter as ‘deceased’
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/westny/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1262157920289230.xml&coll=3
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 WEST NEW YORK – Town Clerk Carmela Riccie has asked the county superintendent of elections to investigate why voter Pedro Costales was listed as deceased on state records.
TN: Voting Knox felons may be prosecuted; other counties clean up lists (also video)
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=109139&provider=gnews
12/30/2009 A list including more than 100 convicted felons who cast ballots in recent Knox County elections–despite the loss of their voting rights for their crimes–has been turned over to the District Attorney’s office for investigation
VT: Petition challenges Burlington instant-runoff voting
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091230/NEWS02/91229033/Petition-challenges-Burlington-instant-runoff-voting
December 30, 2009… The group, “One Person, One Vote,” told supporters at a news conference in City Hall that returning to Burlington’s earlier, simpler electoral process for mayor would boost voter turnout, enliven debates and yield more decisive city leadership….
WA: Seattle Times Story on U.S. Supreme Court Involvement in Petition Secrecy Case
http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/12/30/seattle-times-story-on-u-s-supreme-court-involvement-in-petition-secrecy-case/
December 30th, 2009 The December 30 Seattle Times has this story about the upcoming decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, on the petition privacy case, Doe v Reed.
National
Want to know about problems with Voting By Mail?
http://novbm.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/want-to-know-about-problems-with-voting-by-mail/
At one point, I counted up and found over 89 Articles About Why Voting By Mail is a Very Bad Idea.
Now, it’s easily over 100.
…
The voting by mail process has disenfranchised me, as a voter. It has made the vote counting process horribly slow. It has thrown security concerns out the window, and the convenience that it sells itself on has had many unintended consequences from high numbers of signatures that don’t match, to hundreds if not thousands of votes lost in the mail. Routinely…
“CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES RAISED $1.42 BILLION IN 2007-2008”
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/014963.html
End Judicial Selection by Election
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/end-judicial-selection-by_b_406128.html
Judge H. Lee Sarokin Retired in 1996 after 17 years on the federal bench
Judges should not be treated like American Idol contestants. One of the principal roles of the judiciary is to protect minorities against the tyranny of the majority. Election of judges reverses that noble goal and demeans the judiciary. The influence of money should have no place in our judicial system.
International
The Role of Twitter in the Iran Elections of 2009 (video)
A project of the Networked Politics class in the Dept of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNkeP2T5Xvw
The Evil (Cyber) Empire
Inside the world of Russian hackers
http://www.newsweek.com/id/228674
NATO takes the threat of cyber-warfare so seriously that it signed off on a special report on the topic during its parliamentary assembly last October.
Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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