Ohio: Suspected cases of election fraud involve only a small percentage of the total ballots cast | Cincinnati.com

Across the state 450 votes in the 2012 election have come under scrutiny, with 129 of those turned over to law enforcement for investigation, Secretary of State Jon Husted has exclusively told the Enquirer. In the majority of the cases, the fraud was an “attempted effort” and only a few actually cast two ballots, Husted said. Some of the 450 made an innocent mistake, unsure whether they cast an absentee ballot with no “nefarious” intentions, Husted said. But others intentionally tried to cast two ballots by voting in their home county and then going elsewhere to cast a provisional ballot. Those 129 votes are an infinitesimal 0.00229 percent of the 5.63 votes case in the 2012 presidential election. That’s roughly one out of every 43,478 votes.

Iowa: Voter fraud case against West Iowans dismissed | SFGate

Charges have been dismissed against three Council Bluffs residents accused of election misconduct for registering to vote without U.S. citizenship, though the charges could be refiled at a later date, prosecutors said Monday. A Canadian couple and a woman originally from Mexico were charged with election misconduct and fraudulent practice in September. Prosecutors alleged they registered to vote without being U.S. citizens, but the three individuals, who were legally living in the U.S., said they were unaware they had done anything wrong. Prosecutors dismissed the charges because a key witness, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent looking into the cases, has been called to active military duty and unable to testify. Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber confirmed Monday that the charges could be refiled at a later date.

Indiana: White blames lawyer for his voter fraud conviction | SFGate

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White said in court documents Thursday that his attorney didn’t mount any defense to protect him from the conviction that forced him from office. The assertion is among several in a petition filed in Hamilton County asking a judge to toss out White’s convictions on voter fraud and other counts. White said the defense strategy used by his attorney — former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi — was “deficient and unreasonable.” Brizzi did not call any witnesses at White’s February 2012 trial and immediately rested the defense after the prosecution wrapped up its case. White was sentenced last year to one year of home detention and remains free on bail. The document says Brizzi’s defense was riddled with errors and that the former prosecutor was “ignorant of the law.”

North Carolina: Tillis: Fraud ‘not the primary reason’ for voter ID push | WRAL.com

State House Speaker Thom Tillis signaled what could be a change in messaging on voter ID Saturday – and dropped some hints about the details of upcoming legislation – during an appearance on MSNBC. The left-leaning news channel might not seem like an intuitive choice for an appearance by Tillis, a Republican, but MSNBC has spent much of the day covering the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. Tillis was invited to appear to address his party’s push for a photo voter ID law in North Carolina.

Kenya: President Obama’s Kenyan Brother Believes He’s Been a Victim of Possible Voter Fraud and ‘Racist’ Press Coverage | Politicker

Abong’o Malik Obama wants to have a career in politics like his half-brother, President Barack Obama. However, hours after the polls closed in Kenya’s elections last night, Mr. Obama said he wasn’t sure whether his bid to be governor of Siaya County was a success and he is concerned the election results may have been tampered with. He’s also extremely angry about tabloid coverage of his campaign. “It’s impossible to tell at this time, the whole system crashed,” Mr. Obama told Politicker when we called him Tuesday morning to inquire about the election. “We have no idea, it’s still hanging out there, and I myself am extremely disappointed and there is a high risk that the results may be manipulated.”  Yesterday’s elections are the first under the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, which was ratified after the 2007 election ended with widespread violence and a disputed result. Though the voting yesterday proceeded largely without violence, there were reports of technical problems at many polling places. Mr. Obama said he stayed up late into the night and was given no information about the election result from officials. “I was sitting out there at the tallying center for the county up until almost 1 o’clock last night and there’s a complete blackout,” he explained.

Indiana: Charlie White must file court documents in voter fraud trial by March 15 | Indianapolis Star

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White has until March 15 to file court documents explaining why he thinks he should get a new trial on voter fraud and theft charges. During a telephone conference with attorneys on the case Wednesday afternoon, Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation asked White’s attorney, Andrea Ciobanu, to file White’s post-conviction relief petition by March 15. He also scheduled a June 4 hearing on the petition. However, Nation did not rule on special prosecutors’ motion for White to begin serving his one-year home-detention sentence, special prosecutor Dan Sigler said today.

Florida: Florida foils web-based voter fraud plot, but next attempt could be more elusive | Fox News

A Florida case could signal the wave of the future in voter fraud. South Florida election officials have reportedly foiled a plot to fraudulently apply online for thousands of absentee ballots in three 2012 primaries, but the masterminds remain at large amid concern that they could be successful the next time around by making minor adjustments. Officials in the state’s Miami-Dade region said they blocked the effort to get 2,552 absentee ballots in three August primaries because the requests rolled in just minutes apart on July 7, 2012, according to The Miami Herald, which conducted its own investigation. A six-month grand jury probe found the requests were made under the cover of international Internet provider addresses and were limited to three races — a congressional race in which the hackers tried to request absentee ballots for Democratic voters and two state legislative races in which they tried to get ballots for Republican voters.

Florida: Miami-Dade has authority to enact absentee ballot law, judge rules | Miami Herald

In its effort to crack down on voter fraud, Miami-Dade County has the authority to limit how many absentee ballots a voter can possess, a judge ruled Friday. The ruling came in the case of Sergio “El Tio” Robaina, whose lawyers had challenged a county ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to collect multiple absentee ballots. Prosecutors say Robaina, 74, illegally collected absentee ballots and filled out two against the wishes of two voters, one of them a woman with dementia. He faces two felony counts of voter fraud and two misdemeanor counts of illegally possessing absentee ballots. The Miami-Dade County Commission, worried about the perception of election fraud, passed the ordinance two years ago. A person may turn in only two absentee ballots in addition to their own: one belonging to an immediate family member and another belonging to a voter who has signed a sworn statement designating that person as responsible.

Ohio: Did nun vote for dead colleague? | Cincinnati.com

A Greater Cincinnati nun is suspected of illegally casting a ballot for another nun who died before last November’s election, a new case of alleged vote fraud that emerged as local officials move to wrap up their investigation into election improprieties last fall. Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, 78, died Oct. 4 after a 59-year career as a Sister of Charity that included service in schools here and across the country, as well as in various other positions in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Although her death occurred before absentee ballots had been mailed to voters throughout Hamilton County, a completed ballot was returned to the elections board in Hewitt’s name.

Illinois: County clerk tells of possible campaign problems in Cicero | chicagotribune.com

Allegations such as voters being offered pizza coupons and campaign workers insisting on handling mail-in ballots for town residents have sprung up in Cicero as the heated race for town president heads into its final week. The Cook County clerk’s office has notified law enforcement officials, including the state’s attorney’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice, of such allegations and other claims of voter intimidation and voter fraud in the western suburb. Incumbent Larry Dominick is seeking his third term as town president. He will face former McPier executive Juan Ochoa and former town senior services director Joe Pontarelli next Tuesday. “The state’s attorney is out there (in Cicero) this week interviewing people about the allegations,” Cook County Clerk David Orr said Monday at a news conference. Orr said his office has gotten several complaints from voters. He said he is disturbed about town employees in uniforms who are allegedly campaigning and knocking on doors.

Maine: Report: Voter fraud not an issue in Maine | SeacoastOnline.com

Every now and then, a commission report comes out that provides solid information and analysis, and helpful recommendations on what state government ought to do. That’s the case with the Elections Commission appointed by former Secretary of State Charlie Summers last year amid various voting controversies, and received by his successor, Matt Dunlap. Unaccountably, the report was leaked to the Huffington Post on Tuesday, with the regrettable effect of producing early news stories but no coverage of its actual presentation to the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday. But the report is well worth reading, both for its conclusions and the fair-minded way it considers the evidence. If politicians take heed, it should help settle controversies over Voter ID, Election Day registration and absentee balloting well into the future.

Maryland: Proposed voter ID law again draws hot debate in Annapolis | MarylandReporter.com

Republican legislators are back again, pushing controversial voter identification laws after failed attempts in prior years. Sponsored by Republican Dels. Nic Kipke, Kathy Afzali and 32 other Republicans, but no Democrats, the contentious bill sparked heated debate last week in the House Ways & Means Committee. “HB 137 is a very familiar subject to many of us in this room,” Kipke told the committee. “I think most of us have differing views, but I believe requiring proof of identity on election day is a good thing for our election integrity.” Kipke, Afzali and others supporting voter ID laws view the initiative as a solution to what they see as the widespread problem of voter fraud, which Democrats insist is rare.

Georgia: State investigators: Fulton election documents were altered | www.ajc.com

Someone altered Fulton County voter records after last year’s presidential election, using a red pen to add names to tally sheets of voters using paper ballots and marking that their votes all counted. Who is responsible remains a mystery, but it happened after managers from at least two precincts had signed off on the documents and submitted them to the main county elections office. “I know for certain that these additional names were added after,” Rosalyn Murphy, who served in November as an assistant poll manager at Church of the Redeemer in Sandy Springs, told the State Election Board during a hearing Thursday focusing on the performance of the county’s elections office. “That doesn’t even look like our handwriting.”

Virginia: No charges for Patrick Moran in voter fraud investigation | The Washington Post

Arlington County police have decided not to charge Patrick Moran in connection with possible voter fraud, authorities announced Thursday. Arlington police and prosecutors initiated an investigation following an undercover video that was released in October showing Moran discussing possible voter fraud with an activist posing as a campaign worker. Authorities have closed their investigation, saying the person responsible for making the video was uncooperative. They also noted that Moran and the Jim Moran for Congress campaign provided “full cooperation.”

Editorials: Voting myths and legends | Toledo Blade

Allegations of voter fraud and vote suppression are common, especially among Ohio lawmakers who would use the former to justify the latter. Actual instances of attempts to tamper with voting are rare. A recent directive by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is a welcome effort to separate fact from fiction. Unsubstantiated claims of vote rigging can take on a life of their own. The Internet helps to turn rumor into fact through repetition. A post-election email that went viral is a case in point. One version of the anonymous email claimed that last November, in 21 Wood County districts Republican voting inspectors were illegally removed and President Obama won 100 percent of the votes. The writer also said that more than 106,000 votes were cast in Wood County, even though the county had only 98,213 registered voters. None of it’s true, as a check of the Wood County Board of Elections or Ohio Secretary of State Web sites makes clear. Mr. Obama won a little more than 51 percent of the 63,948 votes cast for president in Wood County. He didn’t win all of the vote in any district.

Jordan: Partial recount demanded as Jordanian election protests continue | Trend.Az

Candidates on Saturday demanded a partial recount in recent Jordanian parliamentary elections, even as protests regarding the contested results rumbled on, DPA reported Hundreds of supporters of defeated candidates rallied in Amman and Mafraq, marking the third straight day of protests over the results of the January 23 polls. Some 56.7 per cent of Jordan’s 3 million eligible voters cast ballots in Wednesday’s polls, which were declared by international observers to be free and fair, with few irregularities. However several candidates cried foul after a late surge in voting tipped the balance in several heated contests and after final election results on Thursday sealed some candidates’ victories with margins in the single digits.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee prosecutors investigating voter fraud | JSOnline

Milwaukee prosecutors are investigating at least two instances of suspected voter fraud from the presidential election in November, court records reveal. Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf confirmed Tuesday only that his office is looking at several referrals from area clerks after the November election, and not all of the reviews require subpoenas like those recently made public in the two cases. In one matter, investigators seek records that might prove Leonard K. Brown voted twice in the November election, once in Milwaukee and again in West Milwaukee. The other suggests a Mukwonago man voted there and in West Allis. That man, Chad Vander Hyden, was arrested on charges of double voting in December after he declined West Allis detectives’ invitation to come in and discuss what appeared to be his signature on poll records.

Iowa: Funding of Iowa’s voting probe is under scrutiny | Omaha.com

State and federal auditors said Thursday that they’re reviewing whether it is appropriate for Iowa elections officials to use federal money meant to improve elections to fund a two-year criminal investigation into potential voter fraud. The inspector general of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and Iowa’s state auditor said they’re gathering information from Secretary of State Matt Schultz about his agreement to hire an agent to investigate and prosecute illegal voters such as felons and noncitizens.

Tennessee: Sevier County Election Commission admits mistakes | The Mountain Press

The Sevier County Election Commission voted Wednesday to have its attorney acknowledge in court that there were flaws in the voting on the Pigeon Forge Liquor by the Drink referendum, admitting issues that could cause Chancellor Telford Forgety to toss the results of the Nov. 6 election on that issue and call for a revote. The election commission met late Wednesday afternoon, hours ahead of the start of proceedings today where Forgety would review a contest of election filed by the organization that campaigned against the measure. Shortly after the meeting started, the commission voted to approve a motion to “instruct our attorney to stipulate the results of the Pigeon Forge referendum are incurable with no finding of fraud.”

Editorials: End the war on voter fraud | Tampa Bay Times

Here is the great irony of increased voting options in Florida: Cast either a mail-in ballot or a provisional ballot at the polls, and you increase the chance your vote won’t count. That’s because poorly crafted regulations intended to thwart fraud, which is no discernible threat, can end up disenfranchising legal voters. The Republican-led Legislature helped create this mess, and now it needs to adopt some simple fixes.

New Jersey: Man charged in Essex County voter fraud case sentenced to 5 years in prison | NJ.com

The last defendant in a voter fraud case that once threatened some of Essex County’s most prominent politicians was sentenced today to five years in state prison, the state Attorney General’s Office said. John Fernandez, 61, of Belleville, who worked for the Essex County Department of Economic Development, was ordered to forfeit his job and was permanently barred from public employment in the state, the office said in a news release.

Michigan: GOP operative Ron Weiser of Ann Arbor in hot water over remarks about Detroit voters | AnnArbor.com

Ann Arbor resident and high-ranking GOP fund-raiser Ron Weiser is facing criticism after a video surfaced of him making allegations of voter fraud and crime in Detroit at a tea party gathering in Milford, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday. In the video, which was filmed in August by a Democratic operative and posted to YouTube by the Michigan Democratic Party, Weiser discussed Detroit’s population decline and the lack of political “machines” as reasons Republicans should be optimistic about the election.

Editorials: Just say ‘no’ to Kris Kobach, the secretary of distractions | KansasCity.com

Another legislative session coming up, another attempted overreach by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. The conservative Republican has said he will again ask the Legislature to give his office the power to search out and prosecute suspected cases of voter fraud. Let’s hope lawmakers turn him down, as they did the last time he asked. Prosecuting voter fraud is currently the job of county prosecutors. Kobach says those offices are overworked, and voter fraud isn’t a high priority with them.

Ohio: Fears of voter fraud unfounded | Dayton Daily News

Local election results that were certified Monday and Tuesday appear to show that pre-election warnings of widespread voter fraud or significant voter disenfranchisement did not come to pass. Some political groups — usually conservative-leaning — warned of double-voting and challenged hundreds of voters’ eligibility. But a review of six local counties — Montgomery, Greene, Warren, Clark, Butler and Miami — where 751,795 people cast ballots shows only two cases where election officials referred a voter to the prosecutor’s office for investigation. “I don’t know where people hear these horror stories (of fraud), but we haven’t seen it around here” said Sally Pickarski, deputy director of the Clark County Board of Elections.

Editorials: Philadelphia voter fraud: Is it possible that Barack Obama won 100 percent of so many precincts? | Slate Magazine

The New Black Panther Party was there, on cue. Standing outside of the 4th precinct in Philadelphia’s 14th ward, there was Jerry Jackson, a member of the leather-loving fringe group who’d signed up to be a poll watcher for the Nov. 6 election. Fox News was there, too. In 2008, the network spent hours playing and replaying a video of two Panthers glaring at a conservative poll-watcher as he filmed them. This year the network sent its own reporter, who tried to interview Jackson. “Have you been around a lot today? What’s your purpose of being here?” He said nothing. The network switched to video of the 35th ward, where people waiting in a school to vote were walking past a mural of the president, even after Republicans sued to get it covered up. “This remained untouched for hours as people voted!” said reporter Eric Shawn.

Texas: Canseco Concedes Texas CD-23 to Gallego | KUT News

U.S. Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco conceded the Congressional District 23 race on Friday. He congratulated state Rep. Pete Gallego, while renewing allegations that voter fraud skewed the results. “While there is no doubt there were improperly counted votes and improperly cast ballots, a full investigation and recount would be prohibitively expensive and time consuming,” Canseco said in a statement.

Nevada: Republicans ‘Test’ For Voting Fraud, Wind Up In Custody | TPM

Two Republicans in separate states were taken into police custody during the past week for allegedly attempting to test how easy it would be to commit voter fraud. In Nevada, 56-year-old Roxanne Rubin, a Republican, was arrested on Nov. 2 for allegedly trying to vote twice, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The newspaper quoted a report by an investigator with the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office that said Rubin “was unhappy with the process; specifically in that her identification was not checked.”

New Jersey: Email Voting Fails Some New Jersey Residents | Buzzfeed

New Jersey’s last-minute offer of email voting to displaced residents was greeted by concern by security experts, who warn that email offers a fast track to voter fraud. But the system may have another problem as well: County election administrators are, according to anecdotal reports, simply not responding to all requests for ballots. In two major counties, the email address advertised on the website of the county clerk is not even accepting email. The email address listed on the website of the Morris County Clerrk, asmith@co.morris.nj.us, is not receiving email. Nor is the email, info@essexclerk.com, listed on the website of the Essex County Clerk, info@essexclerk.com and the County’s site. (The Essex County Clerk posted to his Facebook page Monday that voters could email requests to his personal Hotmail account.

National: Scant evidence of voter suppression, fraud in states with ID laws | chicagotribune.com

Democratic claims that a large number of Americans could be prevented from voting because of photo identification laws are probably overstated based on evidence from Georgia and Indiana, the two states where the laws have been in place for multiple elections, Reuters found. Data and numerous interviews by Reuters reporters also suggest there is little evidence to bolster Republican assertions that ID laws are needed to combat rampant voter fraud.