The Voting News Daily: Saguache, CO Ballot Dispute: New Clerk, But Same Old Controversy, Democrats ask court to enforce ruling making Vop Osili Secretary of State

Blogs: Saguache, CO Ballot Dispute: New Clerk, But Same Old Controversy | Doug Chapin/PEEA On January 24 Saguache County, CO voters overwhelmingly recalled County Clerk Melinda Myers. Myers had been under fire ever since presiding over a hotly-disputed 2010 election in which preliminary results – which showed some candidates, including Myers’ GOP opponent, leading –…

The Voting News Daily: Nevada caucuses: State GOP rolls snake eyes, Tempers flare at chaotic ‘sundown caucus’

Nevada: Nevada caucuses: State GOP rolls snake eyes | Politico.com The biggest loser in Nevada’s Republican caucuses? The state’s feckless GOP. Unable to control how its county parties count and report results, state Republicans were scrambling Sunday to explain why, almost 24 hours after most caucuses ended, the votes still have not been counted. Here in Clark…

The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly January 30 – February 5 2012

The UK Guardian asked computer security experts for their opinion on the Motion Picture Academy’s plans for online voting. Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was convicted of voter fraud, perjury and other counts. Iowa GOP chair Matt Strawn resigned as part of the fallout from the Iowa caucus meltdown that has brought fresh scrutiny on the caucus process. Negotiations to resolve Texas redistricting maps threatens another delay in the State’s primary. The suspension of the Election Assistance Commission’s Standards and Advisory Boards has met with resistance from election officials. A study by the Wesleyan Media Group shows that over half the ads run thus far in the 2012 Presidential election campaign have been funded by Super PACs and Foreign Policy posted an essay on the turmoil surrounding Senegal’s upcoming election.

The Voting News Daily: Oscars vote vulnerable to cyber-attack under new online system, experts warn, Summit addresses military and overseas voters – despite progress, challenges remain

National: Oscars vote vulnerable to cyber-attack under new online system, experts warn | guardian.co.uk Computer security experts have warned that the 2013 Oscars ballot may be vulnerable to a variety of cyber attacks that could falsify the outcome but remain undetected, if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences follows through on its decision…

The Voting News Daily: Contests in battleground states could hinge on ‘invisible’ overseas voters, Citizens United Lawyer: I Hate Super PACs Too

National: Contests in battleground states could hinge on ‘invisible’ overseas voters | NBC Since the 2000 recount in Florida, voting procedures have been under the microscope; in close races, painstaking legal details and arcane rules can determine the results. Among those details is the handling of ballots cast by hundreds of thousands of “invisible” overseas voters.…

The Voting News Daily: Study: SuperPACs Behind Nearly Half Of 2012 Ads, Matt Strawn resigns as Iowa GOP chair – resignation letter does not mention Iowa caucus results

National: Study: SuperPACs Behind Nearly Half Of 2012 Ads | NPR A new analysis shows that in the deluge of TV ads in the early voting states for the Republican presidential primaries, nearly half of the ads are coming not from the candidates but from superPACs — the new breed of political committees that raise…

The Voting News Daily: One-man Washington nonprofit helps steer Shelby County voting case, Confusion feared since ballots bear names of presidential contenders no longer in Florida race

Alabama: One-man Washington nonprofit helps steer Shelby County voting case | al.com Shelby County’s name is on the case, but a one-man Washington, D.C., legal defense fund with pri­vate donors is the driving force be­hind one of the most important constitutional challenges to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Project on Fair Representa­tion is the nonprofit run by…

National: Super PACs target congressional races | The Washington Post

The powerful political groups known as super PACs, whose heavy spending has become a significant factor in the presidential race, are also beginning to play a role in congressional races around the country. The groups have set off a scramble among candidates in both parties, who are now struggling to cope with a flood of negative ads run by organizations that are outside their direct control. Targets of super PAC money in recent months include at least two dozen pivotal House districts around the country, along with high-profile Senate races in states such as Massachusetts, Ohio, Utah and Indiana, according to Federal Election Commission data and interviews with political strategists.

The Voting News Daily: The winner of South Carolina’s primary: Super PACs, Constitutional Showdown over the Voting Rights Act: D.C. Circuit Hears Shelby County v. Holder

National: The winner of South Carolina’s primary: Super PACs | baltimoresun.com It has been two years since the Supreme Court issued its decision in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and we are only now just beginning to see how its overturning of a century of campaign finance law is distorting the electoral…

The Voting News Daily: Activist groups want to undo ruling that led to ‘super PAC’ frenzy, More voters casting ballots early – early voting benefits campaigns with money, manpower

National: The Influence Industry: Activist groups want to undo ruling that led to ‘super PAC’ frenzy | The Washington Post Two years ago this week, the Supreme Court set the political world on its head by ruling that corporations could spend unlimited money on elections, rolling back decades of legal restrictions. An array of liberal-leaning activist…

Editorials: Voting in Plain Sight | Linda Greenhouse/NYTimes.com

Of all the domestic policy differences between the Bush and Obama administrations, just about the sharpest and most telling may be their opposite responses to the drive by Republican-dominated states to require voters to present photo identification at the polls. The Bush administration thought photo ID was a dandy idea. The Obama administration recognizes it for what it is: a cynical effort to insure that fewer young people and members of minority groups (read, likely Democratic voters) are able to cast a ballot.

Nebraska: Supporters, opponents debate effectiveness of Nebraska voter ID law proposal | Daily Nebraskan

State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, Neb., has found himself yet again in the middle of a passionate legislative battle. Last year, it was over an immigration bill, one of the most controversial of that legislative session. This time around, political conflict is brewing over his voter ID bill, a requirement that Nebraska voters present official identification, most often a photo ID such as a driver’s license, before they mark the ballot.

The Voting News Daily: Partisan feud escalates over voter ID laws in South Carolina, other states, Internet picks presidential candidate if Ackerman gets his way

National: Partisan feud escalates over voter ID laws in South Carolina, other states | CSMonitor.com The Obama administration’s recent decision to block a new voter ID law in South Carolina is fueling one of the biggest partisan debates of the day: Do stronger state voter ID laws really curtail the minority franchise? States have been on…

The Voting News Daily: Not Set in Granite, The power of super PACs

Editorials: Not Set in Granite | NYTimes.com Right now, while we indulge New Hampshire’s childish insistence on its presidential primary being “first in the nation,” Americans should decide to bury this tradition. Nearly a century is enough: the Granite State has somehow turned a fluke into an entitlement. Worse, its obsession with primacy prolongs, complicates…

Editorials: Not Set in Granite | NYTimes.com

Right now, while we indulge New Hampshire’s childish insistence on its presidential primary being “first in the nation,” Americans should decide to bury this tradition. Nearly a century is enough: the Granite State has somehow turned a fluke into an entitlement. Worse, its obsession with primacy prolongs, complicates and distorts the presidential nominating process. In a democracy, no state should be first forever. People have been grumbling about this and other undemocratic anomalies for years. But the standoff between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008 gave the nominating process the equivalent of a stress test, which it failed.

National: ES&S DS200 digital scanning device for presidential vote has bugs, report confirms | CNET News

An e-voting machine that is to be used for the presidential election this year has been found to have “anomalies” such as failing to record votes or logging the wrong vote and freezing, according to a government report.
The Formal Investigative Report issued late last month by the Electronic Assistance Commission (EAC), which certifies electronic voting equipment, issued a notice of noncompliance for the DS200 optical scanning device manufactured by Electronic Systems & Software (ES&S), but did not decertify the machine.

The report found three anomalies:

Intermittent screen freezes, system lockups, and shutdowns that prevent the voting system from operating in the manner in which it was designed

Failure to log all normal and abnormal voting system events

Skewing of the ballot, resulting in a negative effect on system accuracy

Specifically, the DS200 failed in some cases to record when the touch screen was calibrated or the system was powered on or off, failed to read votes correctly when a ballot was inserted at an angle, and accepted a voted ballot without recording the ballot on its internal counter and without recording the marks, according to the report.

The Voting News Weekly: TVN Weekly January 2-8 2012

Computerworld examined the recent report from the Election Assistance Commission that uncovered multiple faults with the ES&S DS200 digital scan voting system. Texas’s redistricting will be addressed by the US Supreme Court. Thanks to the transparency of precinct hand-counting of paper ballots, a Iowa caucus-goer revealed what may be a outcome-changing typo in the tallies from one precinct. The South Carolina GOP is still a $500,000 short of the funds necessary to administer this month’s Presidential primary. The Montana Supreme Court has defied the US Supreme Court decision in FEC vs. Citizens United by upholding the State’s ban on corporate campaign contributions. Edward Foley posted a preview of the election year that has just begun. American Prospect posted a profile of lawyer James Bopp and his career of crusading against limitations on campaign funding. Cuyahoga County’s use of risk-limiting audits and other security measures was praised by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Virginia Attorney General has decided not to intervene in the case surrounding ballot access for the State’s primary next month.

The Voting News Daily: Looking Ahead to the End of this New Year, Montana Supreme Court, Citizens United: Can Montana get away with defying the Supreme Court?

Editorials: Looking Ahead to the End of this New Year | Edward B. Foley/ElectionLaw@Moritz Will the rules, particularly recent changes in the rules, governing elections make a difference in the outcomes next November? Possibilities include the effect of changes in campaign finance laws or the laws governing voter identification and other aspects of the vote-casting…

Nebraska: Proposed Nebraska Voter ID Bill Meets Opposition | WOWT.com

It’s one of the most important rights we have in a democracy, the right to vote. To help protect that right, a Nebraska state senator wants to set up what he believes is a simple process, but opponents of a voter ID bill are already up in arms.

The bill’s language is simple. Anyone who wants to vote must provide a state or government issued ID that shows a current address. A group of community members, elected officials and representative from area organizations met Wednesday morning in Omaha. They said not only is the idea unnecessary, it would create a burden for anyone without an ID or who would need to update their old ID at a cost of $26.50.

“It unfairly targets citizens with low income, seniors, youth and citizens with disabilities,” said Linda Duckworth with the League of Women Voters of Nebraska. “It points us in a direction that Nebraskans should be ashamed to take.”

Editorials: Citizen Bopp | The American Prospect

Wedged up against the Illinois border on the banks of the Wabash River, Terre Haute, Indiana, has seen better days. Many factories have closed, and downtown has too many vacant storefronts. But there are signs of activity: Indiana State University has grown, the federal prison still provides reliable jobs—and the ten-lawyer litigation machine that occupies the offices of attorney James Bopp Jr. at the corner of 6th and Wabash is going full tilt.

Bopp is best known as the lawyer behind a case involving a 90-minute film made in 2008 attacking then–presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Bopp’s suit ultimately resulted in the landmark 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, in which the Supreme Court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts such as the movie and its promotional ads were legitimate expressions of free speech and couldn’t be limited by campaign-finance laws. The ruling overturned key restrictions on the use of corporate and union money in politics. Bopp is already well into the next phase of his crusade to topple as many of the state and federal limits on the role of money in politics as can be done in one man’s lifetime.

Over the past 30 years, Bopp has been at the forefront of litigation strategies that have reshaped campaign-finance law inexorably. Having helped pave the way for spending in the 2012 elections that’s likely to exceed the 2008 level by several billions, Bopp is already well into the next phase of his crusade to topple as many of the state and federal limits on the role of money in politics as can be done in one man’s lifetime. His targets include two of the few remaining bedrock principles of money-and-politics law: disclosure mandates and the prohibition against unions and corporations giving directly to candidates and parties. He’s also juggling cases that go after dollar limits on contributions, attack elements of public-financing programs, and chisel away at other facets of the regulatory regime.

Texas: Justice Department review delays Texas Voter ID law | Your Houston News

The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing Texas’ recently passed Voter ID bill after a ruling Dec. 23 stated that a similar bill in South Carolina did not meet requirements of the 1965 Voter Rights Act and made it more difficult for minorities to vote. “I’m disappointed the Department of Justice is playing politics in this,” State Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said. “I’m intrigued to see the outcome of the litigation, but at the end of the day, the Supreme Court is going to uphold it.”

Creighton said the bill would require voters to provide a Texas Driver’s License or Department of Public Safety public identification card, citizenship papers or a U.S. passport, or similar documents. For those who do not have the required document, Creighton said a DPS identification card can be obtained free of charge.

Editorials: Review & Outlook: Holder’s Racial Politics | WSJ.com

Eric Holder must be amazed that President Obama was elected and he could become Attorney General. That’s a fair inference after the Attorney General last Friday blocked South Carolina’s voter ID law on grounds that it would hurt minorities. What a political abuse of law.

In a letter to South Carolina’s government, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez called the state law—which would require voters to present one of five forms of photo ID at the polls—a violation of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Overall, he noted, 8.4% of the state’s registered white voters lack photo ID, compared to 10% of nonwhite voters. This is the yawning chasm the Justice Department is now using to justify the unprecedented federal intrusion into state election law, and the first denial of a “pre-clearance” Voting Rights request since 1994.

The Voting News Weekly: TVN Weekly December 26 2011 – January 1 2012

As we open a new year, Fareed Zakaria noted the many significant elections scheduled across the world in the coming year. Hackers have threatened to disrupt this week’s Iowa Caucuses. Rick Perry files a lawsuit after he failed to submit sufficient signatures to meet ballot access requirements for the Virginia primary. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the State’s ban on corporation spending on political campaigns, while the Indiana Supreme Court upheld a ban on robo-calls. The New York Times surveyed laws passed in 2011 that could make it difficult for students to vote. Jeffrey Toobin consider Attorney General Eric Holder’s legacy after the Department of Justice blocked South Carolina’s Voter ID law and Joshua Spivak considered the causes for the many recall elections over the past year.

National: Voter ID battle will spread from South Carolina to several other key states | theGrio

The Justice Department’s decision last week to block a new South Carolina law requiring voters to present photo identification is only the first of what will be a year-long battle between advocates and opponents of stricter voting laws. And the results of those fights could determine the winner of the 2012 presidential election.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, said her state will appeal DOJ’s decision in court, casting it as “bullying” by the federal government. At the same time, civil right groups are promising to fight similar provisions in states such as Wisconsin and Texas, arguing these laws unfairly target minorities, who are less likely to hold photo identification.

Texas: Texas voter ID law unnecessary but state AG must defend it nonetheless | Fort Worth Star Telegram

When the U.S. Justice Department last week blocked South Carolina’s new voter ID law because of possible discrimination against minorities, attention quickly focused on Texas, which passed similar legislation this year.

Tentatively set to go into effect Sunday, the Texas law requires that a valid photo ID be presented at the polls along with a voter registration card. The accepted forms of identification are: Texas driver’s license, Texas election ID (issued by the Department of Public Safety), a personal identification card from the DPS, a Texas concealed handgun license, U.S. military ID card, U.S. citizenship certificate or U.S. passport.

In rejecting South Carolina’s law, the Justice Department used the state’s own data to show that tens of thousands of residents did not possess the required photo IDs, and that nonwhite voters would be most burdened under the statute.