Armenia: Armenian Election Law Again Amended | azatutyun.am

The National Assembly on Tuesday approved in the second reading a set of legal amendments which its pro-government majority says will facilitate the proper conduct of the next Armenian elections.

Armenia’s leading opposition groups dismiss the amendments as insignificant, however. They have also denounced the parliament majority for rejecting virtually all major proposals made by them.

The latest changes in the Electoral Code stem from sweeping political reforms that have been promised by the Armenian authorities to the Council of Europe. The Strasbourg-based organization’s Venice Commission, which monitors legal reforms in Council of Europe member states, has made a largely positive assessment of them.

Wisconsin: Recount in Wisconsin Supreme Court race to serve as tool for improving election process | JSOnline

With Waukesha County’s plodding recount in the Supreme Court now over and with Justice David Prosser’s statewide win almost certain to be certified as early as Monday, the state’s top election official said lessons from the recount will not be ignored.

“This isn’t something you do and just put it on the shelf,” said Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the Government Accountability Board. The detailed recount record serves a public purpose as an opportunity to evaluate clerk training and election procedures and to make changes where needed.

“We will devote a lot of energy to that between now and this fall’s elections,” he said.

Arizona: Russell Pearce recall may be pushed to 2012 due to error | The Arizona Republic

Arizona’s elections director said she inadvertently gave an incorrect timetable to the organizers of a drive to recall controversial Senate President Russell Pearce, forcing a change in strategy in the historic recall effort.

Elections Director Amy Bjelland said she initially told recall organizer Randy Parraz that if he filed his signatures by May 25, there would be enough time to verify them and schedule a November election.

California: Voting change could be costly locally | Chico Enterprise Record

Though Measure A proponents claim moving the Chico City Council elections from November to June would not cost taxpayers more money, the Registrar of Voters Office says different. A June 2012 ballot could cost Chico $130,000 versus a November election price tag of $57,000, according to a Butte County Registrar of Voters estimate. The city could pay about $73,000 more per council election, which occur every two years.

Because the city would be sharing the June election with just the county rather than about 17 jurisdictions who appeared in the November 2010 ballot, the election would likely cost more, said Laurie Cassady, assistant county registrar of voters. Measure A supporters had enough signatures to put the initiative on the June 7 special municipal election ballot. During a debate last week, proponents said the election month change would not cost more money.

Editorials: Jepthah Gathaka  | The management of five elections in one wi……ll be an impossible undertaking in Kenya | Daily Nation

The new Constitution provides that the election of President, MPs and the Senate, the county governor and the county ward representatives be held ‘‘on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year’’. The management of five elections in one General Election in one day will be a Herculean task for the proposed Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

This will be against the spirit of the Constitution as provided for in Article 86, for it will be a recipe for chaos. It will be very difficult for voters to cast ballots in five boxes in one session. Even in the so-called developed democracies, managing and participating in five elections is quite difficult.

Verified Voting Blog: Unique Challenges of Election Administration

For most Americans the election has been over for two weeks, but for the state and local officials tasked with administering elections the process continues. Most jurisdictions are involved in the certification process, during which vote totals are confirmed, absentee ballots are tabulated and the status of provisional ballots are determined. Over half the states conduct a post election audits of some ballots. And of course some jurisdictions are involved in recounts of close contests. Most of the time the demanding work of election officials goes unnoticed and unacknowledged until something goes wrong or comes under the microscope in the politically charged atmosphere of a recount.