California: San Diego Assemblywoman Proposes Mail-Only Voting For Special Elections | KPBS

San Diego has seen a litany of special elections recently, from the mayor’s race to City Council District 4 to state senate and assembly races. In each election, many of the votes were cast by mail. Now, state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez is proposing a bill that would allow counties and cities to conduct special elections entirely by mail. Gonzalez said in special elections, the majority of voters cast ballots by mail, so it’s a waste of money to keep polling stations staffed for 13 hours on Election Day. “In the Senate 40 district, we had one polling place where only one person showed up to vote,” she told KPBS Midday Edition. “So the cost per vote at the polling place is over $100, where the cost per vote for the mail in is less than $10.” She said in that election, the cost per voter who went to a polling place was $221.43, while each mail ballot cost $8.73.

Australia: Senate election re-run to cost $20 million | Sydney Morning Herald

The re-run of the West Australian senate election will cost taxpayers as much as $20 million, nearly double initial estimates of $10-13 million. And the Griffith by-election that saw Labor’s Terri Butler edge out the LNP’s Bill Glasson to take former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s former seat of Griffith cost taxpayers another $1.194 million. Acting electoral commissioner Tom Rogers told Senate estimates late on Tuesday night that the lower estimates for the statewide by-election had been merely been an early estimate of the cost of heading back to the polls. Mr Rogers said the Australian Electoral Commission was still finalising estimates but the bill could run to about $20 million for taxpayers.

Arkansas: Bill to keep Lietenant Governor office vacant advances | Associated Press

Arkansas senators cleared a path Wednesday for a vote on a bill to keep the lieutenant governor’s office vacant until the November general election. A Senate committee advanced a measure that would enable Gov. Mike Beebe to not call a special election for the lieutenant governor’s office. The position has been vacant since Mark Darr resigned on Feb. 1. Holding the election would cost at least $1 million, said the bill’s sponsor, Senate Republican Leader Eddie Joe Williams of Cabot. Darr, a Republican, resigned under the threat of impeachment and after the state Ethics Commission fined him $11,000 for ethics violations tied to his office and campaign spending.

California: San Diego county hopes to lick high elections cost with vote by mail | UTSanDiego

With a deluge of special elections running up big bills, San Diego County is pushing state legislation that would allow local governments to offer only mail-ballot special elections. “It could drastically reduce the cost and also it’s an opportunity to expand turnout because people will look at voting more as a 30-day opportunity than as a one-day opportunity,” said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat who introduced legislation Wednesday. Under her Assembly Bill 1873, counties, cities and districts holding special elections could choose to send voters ballots that would be returned by mail or dropped off at predetermined stations. In-person voting would still have to be offered during regular elections, such as the upcoming June primary.

Arkansas: Proposal to avoid special election for lieutenant governor advances | Arkansas News

A resolution that would allow consideration of legislation to let the governor forgo calling a special election for lieutenant governor was approved by the Senate and a House committee on Tuesday, the second day of the Legislature’s fiscal session. Senate Resolution 6 by Senate Majority Leader Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, was approved 32-0. The House version, House Bill 1009 by House Majority Leader Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, received a “do pass” recommendation from the House Rules Committee in a voice vote in which no “no” votes were heard. The resolution advances to the full House, where a two-thirds majority vote will be required to consider the non-budget proposal in a fiscal session.

Arkansas: Proposal filed to avoid special election for lieutenant governor | Arkansas News

A pair of identical House and Senate resolutions to avoid a special session to replace former Lt. Gov. Mark Darr has strong backing, House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, said Monday. Carter said he has seen some other non-budget bills measures filed, but “I don’t “think any of those things have the support.” Consideration of a non-appropriations bill during a fiscal session requires a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.

Texas: Commissioner Says Dallas County Shouldn’t Spend More Money To Update Voter Records | KERA

Dallas County Commissioners are discussing whether to pony up more money to reach voters whose photo IDs don’t match their elections records. The Democratic county judge says it’s an effort to make sure everyone who’s registered gets to vote, but the commission’s lone Republican thinks there’s another reason. Last November was the first test of Texas’ new voter ID law, and in Dallas County one in five had to sign affidavits before they could cast ballots.  They had to swear to their identities because the names on their photo ID’s didn’t exactly match their names on the county’s registration list. Election officials believe at least 195,000 registered voters in Dallas County have name discrepancies that will delay their voting in March and November.

Virginia: Panel nixes voting machines measure | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia localities may continue to use touch-screen voting machines at the polls beyond the 2014 election. A proposal that would have forced precincts to replace the so-called direct recording electronic machines with optical scan tabulators by November was defeated in the House Privileges and Elections Committee Friday after several panel members voiced concern with the financial burden of replacement. The measure, sponsored by Del. David I. Ramadan, R-Loudoun, would have created a fund to help localities cover half of the cost of new tabulators.

Texas: Fallout from voter ID law continues in Dallas County | Dallas Morning News

Dallas County officials are looking at doubling down on voter outreach, days after launching perhaps the state’s most extensive attempt to alert voters to potential identification problems resulting from Texas’ new voter ID law. County commissioners will examine on Tuesday a proposal to spend up to an additional $165,000 on efforts to resolve voters’ complications with improper photo ID and name discrepancies between required forms of identification. The infusion — which won’t be voted on for at least another week — would come on top of $145,000 that commissioners approved in October to spend on mailings aimed at clearing up lingering conflicts and confusion ahead of the March primary. That first allocation resulted in the mailing on Jan. 24 of notices to 195,000 voters about the ID law’s provision that a voter’s name on a valid photo ID must exactly match the name listed in the voter registration database. It remains to be seen specifically how the extra funds would be used, as officials offered on Friday varying descriptions of possible outreach efforts. But given the voter ID law’s hot-button status, Tuesday’s commissioners court meeting figures to be a heated affair.

Florida: Special election for Radel seat to cost thousands | WINK

WINK News has confirmed that Governor Scott will call for a special election to fill Radel’s seat, but how much could it cost you the taxpayer? As Radel steps down, many are wondering when we could see a new representative in office. The Collier County Supervisor of Elections says that’s up to the governor. “The challenge here is once the date is determined, just getting everything in motion,” said Edwards. Edwards says the election will be treated like any other. Qualifying rounds, a two party primary if necessary, and a general election.

Michigan: $80,000: Estimated cost for Grand Rapids to hold special election for streets tax | MLive.com

A May ballot proposal for a streets tax would cost more and likely get less participation than if it were put on the November ballot along with county and state elections. But a special election would give Grand Rapids more time to change tax forms if the proposal fails. City Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 28, will consider calling a special election for May 6. Grand Rapids voters, who in 2010 authorized a 5-year income-tax increase, will be asked to continue that increase for another 15 years and earmark the money for streets. Acting City Clerk Darlene O’Neal said holding an election in May will cost Grand Rapids an extra $75,000 to $80,000.

Indiana: Marion County holds off on voting machine upgrade | Indianapolis Star

The Marion County Election Board is holding off on plans to replace all voting machines this year because there’s no money to foot the cost and because its members have a more pressing issue on the horizon. Without money available for a purchase that could cost up to $15 million, Clerk Beth White and two party appointees say they will focus instead on the details needed to pull off a newly mandated centralized count of absentee ballots for the May 6 primary. The three-member board unanimously agreed to table the idea, for now, of soliciting proposals from voting equipment venders. White said the board could revive the issue after the primary. Plans called for any new equipment to be used for the first time in 2015, after this year’s elections.

Solomon Islands: No funds for voter registration | Solomon Star

Lack of government funding has put this year’s national elections at stake. The Electoral Commission on Friday warned its planned voter registration field work, scheduled to start January 27, may now not possible due to lack of funding. “It is very important the Commission has an assurance from the Government that sufficient funding will be committed for the entire operation,” chairman of the Electoral Commissioner Sir Allan Kemakeza said on Friday. “We do not want to be in a position where we are forced to stop mid-way through the process because this will cause widespread confusion for the public,” he added.

Colorado: Officials: State should pay for recall | The Pueblo Chieftain

Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz and Republican lawmakers often don’t see eye to eye on election issues, but they do on one: The state ought to pay the cost of last year’s recall elections in Pueblo and El Paso counties. New state Sens. George Rivera, R-Pueblo, and Bernie Herpin, R-Colorado Springs, have signed onto a letter to Secretary of State Scott Gessler this week that insists the state should cover the $270,000 it cost Pueblo County and the $150,000 it cost El Paso County to conduct the special elections last year. Those recall races ousted Democratic state Sens. Angela Giron, of Pueblo, and John Morse, of Colorado Springs. Rivera and Herpin were elected to replace them.

Editorials: The District of Columbia needs to tackle election reform | The Washington Post

The crowded field of candidates for D.C. mayor opens up the possibility that the winner of the upcoming Democratic primary will have less than a majority of votes. Perhaps as little as 30 percent of the total vote could spell victory. Obviously, that would not be ideal. More people voting against the winner than for the winner seems a strange way for democracy to operate. While it is too late to change the rules for this year’s elections, the District’s political leaders need to look ahead to future contests and put in place reforms that require a majority vote.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee County municipalities to study voting machine purchase | Journal Sentinel

A group of municipal officials from Milwaukee County tiptoed Monday into the issue of consolidating the purchase and programming of voting machines. The Intergovernmental Cooperation Council will name a work group to study the idea, which came out as the top shared-service idea in a survey of 14 municipal officials done by the nonpartisan Public Policy Forum. Interest in the idea was prompted in part by an unsuccessful attempt last fall by County Supervisor John Weishan Jr. to have the county finance the cost of buying 375 voting machines to supply the City of Milwaukee and every other municipality. The idea failed to win County Board approval as an amendment to the county’s 2014 budget on a 9-9 tie vote.

South Carolina: Clemson program could bring online voting to South Carolina | The State

As the calendar rolls into 2014, the political season moves into hyper mode as state voters prepare to go to the polls to elect a governor and two U.S. senators and make other decisions in a mid-term election. Memories of long lines at the polls and questions about the state’s electronic voting machines are likely to recur. A Clemson University professor says he has some technological solutions to those problems. Juan Gilbert, chair of human-centered computing at Clemson, envisions a time when voters will be able to cast their ballots online without leaving home, and when each vote can be verified without relying solely on electronic data. …  The state spent more than $34 million for about 11,400 iVotrinic voting machines in 2004 and 2005, according to a report released last year by the state Legislative Audit Council. That’s about $3,000 per machine, compared to about $500 for an iPad.

Iowa: Secretary of State Spent $150,000 To Expose Voter Fraud, Instead Found Nothing Significant | Huffington Post

Eighteen months and $150,000 later, a rigorous voter fraud investigation commissioned by Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz (R) has failed to produce any statistically significant evidence of voter fraud in Iowa, according to The Des Moines Register. Since taking office in 2011, Schultz has made safeguarding the ballot box from fraud a top state priority, striking a two-year deal with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in 2012 that directed $280,000 of federal funds toward voter fraud inquiries. Additionally, a full-time agent was hired and assigned to pursue voter fraud cases. Although Schultz had expected to unveil “a lot” of voter fraud cases, the investigation so far has yielded just five guilty pleas and five dismissals, The Des Moines Register reported late Sunday. Of the five guilty pleas, three of them involved felons who had completed their prison terms but whose voting rights had not yet been restored when they went to vote.

Illinois: Lake County Elections Board prepares for future purchase of voting machines | News-Herald

Lake County Elections Board officials are preparing for the day — in the not-too-distant future — when the county will have to purchase new voting machine equipment. The county last purchased 864 iVotronic electronic voting machines from Omaha, Neb.-based Election Systems and Software in December 2005 for a total price of $2,749,194, said Janet F. Clair of the Elections Board. Federal funding paid $2,330,770 of that cost through the federal Help America Vote Act and Lake County paid $418,423 toward the purchase, Clair said. That purchase was required to ensure the county was compliant with a new state requirement at the time that voting equipment provide a voter-verified paper audit trail.

California: Special elections: They mostly just waste money | Los Angeles Times

There was a special election in Los Angeles County last week. Didn’t know? Didn’t vote? Didn’t care? Well, you’re in the majority. Less than 9% of registered voters in the 54th Assembly District bothered to show up at the polls or mail in ballots. Angelenos, a generally disunited bunch, coalesced around apathy. But what does it say about us that the one thing we can agree on is indifference? The appalling turnout last week is a symptom of a much larger problem. Why did we even have a special election Dec. 3 in this district that includes Westwood, Ladera Heights, Culver City, Mar Vista and other neighborhoods in west and southwest Los Angeles? It was held to replace former Assemblywoman and current state Sen. Holly Mitchell. Thanks to term limits, which were enacted as a political “reform,” politicians in Los Angeles and California play an endless game of musical chairs, hopping from one elected office to another, sometimes in the middle of their terms.

Australia: Lost votes box could cost taxpayers $13m | The West Australian

A lost box of ballot papers worth just $30 will likely condemn taxpayers to a $13 million election, according to a scathing review of the WA Senate recount. Former Federal police commissioner Mick Keelty accused the WA office of the Australian Electoral Commission of having a culture of complacency that is likely to result in 1.3 million people going back to the polls next year. Mr Keelty was given the task of determining how the commission lost 1370 votes after it was asked to conduct a recount. The probe came after a very close Senate count in WA which, depending on the lost votes, could have two different candidates elected to the Upper House for the next six years. There has been an appeal in the High Court against the result, with a directions hearing to be held next week. Mr Keelty found he could not “conclusively” rule out foul play in the recount, though he suggested the votes could have been placed in wrong boxes, lost in transit or accidentally destroyed. He found the electoral commission was under more pressure, with a bigger workload, demographic changes and increased expectations for results on election night. This had led to mistakes that cumulatively could cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Voting Blogs: Pricey Tuesday? New Pew Dispatch Highlights Cost of Uncontested Elections | Election Academy

With the year-end holiday season underway, we are in the midst of a series of days marketed to consumers as unofficial shopping days: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Buyers on these days are looking to save money and make cost-effective purchases for everyone on their gift list. These shoppers likely wouldn’t flock to the deals offered in a new Pew Election Data Dispatch examining the high cost of uncontested elections. The Dispatch looks at (and links to) several stories of where localities were forced to spend funds on elections where the winner was already clear:

Afghanistan: Lack of cash and monitors add to Afghan election troubles | GlobalPost

Organizers of Afghanistan’s make-or-break presidential election next year say poor security, a shortage of monitors and funding holes are undermining their ability to safeguard the process from the widespread fraud that marred the last poll in 2009. Another deeply flawed election would undermine the attempts of Washington and its allies to foster democracy ahead of the withdrawal of foreign troops later in 2014. “The foundation of the election due to technical issues was not done in the proper way,” said Noor Mohammad Noor, spokesman for the Independent Election Commission (IEC). “We need measures to secure the process through observers.” Western nations, who have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on a conflict that has failed to end the Taliban insurgency, have pledged about a third less cash to the United Nations (U.N.) fund that will cover most of the election’s costs compared with 2009, official U.N. figures shows. The reduced budget is partly because some land and equipment that had to be bought last time is being reused and fewer foreign advisers are needed, say the U.N. and IEC chief Yousof Nooristani.

Editorials: Special elections not best for lawmaker vacancies in California | San Francisco Chronicle

Under California law, the governor is allowed to choose a replacement for a statewide-elected official who vacates her post midterm. He chooses a replacement for county supervisor when one of those positions is unexpectedly vacated as well. It’s an easy and painless process that doesn’t attract much controversy or concern from voters. So why can’t the governor do the same thing with state legislators? This isn’t an idle question – in fact, it’s an expensive one. There have been 10 legislative desertions in the past year alone. In accordance with state law, each of these vacancies requires a special election at an average cost of $1 million. Can’t California always use a spare $10 million?

Australia: New South Wales to spend $3.6 million on electronic voting rollout | iTnews.com.au

The NSW Government will spend $3.6 million expanding its electronic voting system iVote for the 2015 state general election. iVote was first used in a limited capacity in the 2011 state general election. The NSW Government announced earlier this year it would expand the use of the system in the 2015 election, following  hanges to relevant legislation. It today approached the market for a supplier to build and implement the new expanded voting system, and also revealed the state’s treasury had approved funding of $3.63 million for the project. Over 46,800 voters used the iVote service to cast their vote in the 2011 election – around 1 percent of total votes taken. The NSW Electoral Commission expects around 100,000 will use iVote during the 2015 state election.

Maryland: State prepares move back to paper ballots for elections | Maryland Reporter

Local election officials are already expressing uncertainty about what could go wrong when the state switches from an electronic voting system to using paper ballots in the next two years. By the 2016 presidential elections the state will replace touch-screen machines and make a fundamental shift to the way voters cast ballots. “This is a big transition for us,” said Montgomery County Board of Elections Deputy Director Alysoun McLaughlin. “Everything from set up, to warehouses, to the voting experience is based around touch screen [voting] machines.” McLaughlin attended a demonstration last week in Baltimore where Dominion Voting Systems showcased a paper ballot scanning unit to local elections officials that the state will consider purchasing for use in 2016. … State election officials would not provide an estimate of the cost to transition the state to the new paper voting system. Instead, the state board referred to a 2010 study conducted for the state by RTI International which estimated that initial implementation would cost approximately $37 million. The initial implementation costs would include optical scan voting units, ballot marking devices for the disabled, ballot on demand printers and booths and carts.

Voting Blogs: The Mystery of Election Costs | Election Administration Theories and Praxis

Seldom does a week goes by that I am not asked by a jurisdiction to provide estimates of election costs for a series of hypothetical scenarios under consideration.  In the US there is a wide range of costs for an election depending upon the county, the date, the number of participants and the accounting and billing methods used by a county.  Providing an estimate is not a science- it is an art form.  An estimate must not understate the actual costs that will be billed nor should it greatly overstate the costs.  Estimates which are not in-line with the actual costs undermine the credibility of election officials and invites accountants and financial managers to scrutinize the way election costs are calculated, often opening up a window into the bizarre and byzantine. We live in a society where the price of almost everything we purchase is pre-determined and not subject to negotiation- with the notable exceptions of real estate and autos.  The price of a gallon of milk is clearly marked, doesn’t change from one customer to another and does not change between the trek from refrigerator case to the checkstand.  The price doesn’t vary by the number other people buying milk from the same store on the same day.  The price per ounce is based upon the contents and not by the portion consumed.

South Carolina: Richland County buying 170 extra voting machines | The State

Richland County’s election director is creating a new position of voter-outreach coordinator as part of efforts to prepare for the June primary. Howard Jackson asked Richland County Council for money to buy 170 voting machines and associated equipment, enough to comply with state standards requiring one machine per 250 voters. But when it came to covering the new $42,500 position, the council balked, trimming Jackson’s out-of-cycle budget request to $615,622.56 – an amount approved Tuesday by unanimous vote. Jackson said he’ll find the money in the election office’s $1.2 million budget to fund the extra position he deems critical this year. … Rush also expressed concern that county voting machines, selected by the state and purchased in 2004, have become obsolete and will have to be replaced before long.

Arizona: The Cost of a Two-Tiered Election in Arizona | Pew

Arizona election officials are planning to provide two types of ballots for the next election following an opinion by the state’s attorney general.  In the most populous county, Maricopa, this change could cost an additional $250,000 per federal election cycle. The opinion by Attorney General Tom Horne came in response to questions from Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett regarding a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Inc. The court ruled 7-2 that Arizona could not require proof of citizenship from people using the federally provided national mail voter registration form but upheld a state law requiring proof of citizenship for registrants using the state form.

Pennsylvania: Auditor general criticizes $1M voter ID TV ads | Associated Press

Pennsylvania’s fiscal watchdog is calling it a waste of money to spend $1 million on 30-second TV ads promoting the state’s voter ID law. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s criticism Tuesday echoes that of other state Democratic lawmakers, and says the ads are fostering confusion ahead of the Nov. 5 election. A judge has blocked the requirement that voters show certain forms of ID before casting a ballot.