Montana: Bill to end Election Day voter registration gets initial OK in Montana House | Missoulian

House Republicans pushed through a bill Thursday to end same-day voter registration and instead cut it off at 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. House Bill 30 by Rep. Ted Washburn, R-Bozeman, passed an initial 61-39 vote, with all Republicans voting for it and all Democrats against it. The bill faces a final vote before heading to the Senate. Republicans cited long waiting lines and confusion on Election Day resulting from what’s known as “same-day voter registration” as a reason to change the 2005 state law. Democrats countered that it would deprive people of their right to vote if they learned on Election Day they weren’t registered when they thought they were. “All we’re doing is moving the registration back so that the clerk and recorder’s staff can work on the election on Election Day, and the voters, if they’re going to run through the voting process, can be moved along speedily, rather than a four- to six-hour wait,” Washburn said.

Pakistan: Counting continues: Army enters neighbourhoods, doesn’t make it to the door | The Express Tribune

After the opposition parties raised hue and cry over what they called was a botched verification of electoral rolls, the army was seen on Tuesday standing guard in some neighbourhoods. The election commission workers are completing the second phase of the voter verification process that began on January 10. Several political parties expressed, however, their reservations that the process was being carried out without the help of the army and Frontier Constabulary, which was against the Supreme Court orders. On Monday, the chief election commissioner, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had assured the protesting parties that the army would be called in, but the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) – the media wing of the army – gave no confirmation.

Arizona: Lawmakers: Election day voter registration would boost participation | Cronkite News

Democratic lawmakers say allowing voters to register and cast ballots on the same day would increase election participation, but some county officials worry that it would further complicate the voting process. State Rep. Martin J. Quezada, D-Avondale, and state Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, have introduced legislation that would allow people to register and cast provisional ballots on election day. The bills also would rescind a state law cutting off voter registration 29 days before an election. “People express a lot of interest within those last two to three weeks before an election,” Quezada said. “They’re seeing more commercials, they’re seeing more TV, they’re seeing more mail.” He said that many people become interested too late and end up not being able to vote.

Idaho: Democrats Launch Push to Improve Voting Access | Times-News

Idaho Democrats want to make voting more accessible. But already, one of their ideas has hit a hurdle. Democrats unveiled a package of five bills Tuesday, Jan. 29, as part of the Voting Opportunity and Trustworthy Elections Initiative. But one of the bills was voted down during its print hearing just minutes before the press conference. Senate Assistant Minority Leader Elliot Werk, D-Boise, said voter feedback during the campaign season spurred the caucus to put together the legislation, aimed at increasing voter accessibility and participation. The five bills in the act address online voter registration, polling places and costs associated with closed primaries.

Montana: House committee passes contentious bill banning same day voter registration | MTPR

A bill sponsored by Montana Representative Ted Washburn (R-Bozeman) to nix the state’s same-day voter registration system passed the House State Administration Committee on party lines Friday, with Republicans voting for it and Democrats against. Another bill sponsored by Washburn which would require a Montana-issued ID card to vote, was tabled in the committee after three Republicans voted with Democrats. The same-day voter registration closure bill moves the final day to register to the Friday before Election Day. The bill drew long lines of opposition during its public hearing last week, compared with two people speaking in favor of it.

Louisiana: Judge: Voter registration laws were violated | The Advertiser

A federal judge has ruled that Louisiana public assistance agencies have violated a law requiring them to provide voter registration forms to anyone who requests them, whether online, in person or by mail or phone. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo issued a permanent injuction Wednesday against the Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services, Department of Health and Hospitals and Secretary of State Tom Schedler's office. The injunction gives them until March 15 to implement policies and procedures that bring them into full compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

Editorials: Election Reform Should Be a Top Priority for New Congress | The Nation

On two major occasions – during his election night speech and second inaugural address – President Obama has highlighted the need for election reform. “By the way, we have to fix that,” he said on November 6 about the long lines at the polls in states like Florida. Shortly thereafter, the cause of election reform seemed to fall by the wayside, with more pressing events, such as the Sandy Hook shooting and the fiscal cliff, dominating the news. But Obama returned to the issue on January 21, saying “our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.” Now the question is whether the Obama administration and Congress will actually do something to fix the shameful way US elections are run. There are smart proposals in Congress to address the issue. The most comprehensive among them is the Voter Empowerment Act, reintroduced today by Democratic leaders in the House, including civil rights icon John Lewis, and Kirsten Gillibrand in Senate.

Palestine: Hamas Invites Electoral Commission Chief to Gaza | Al-Manar

Hamas on Thursday invited the Palestinian electoral commission chief to come to Gaza to discuss restarting voter registration, in a key step towards Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya "called Central Elections Commission chief Hanna Nasser and invited him to Gaza for talks about voter registration," a statement said. Hamas and the rival Fatah movement have been taking tentative steps to restart long-stalled reconciliation efforts, seeking to implement an agreement signed in Cairo in 2011 that was intended to lead to new elections.

Texas: Rep. Johnson files bills to protect voting rights in Texas | North Dallas Gazette

Rep. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) last week filed legislation to increase access to the ballot box and facilitate greater voter participation.
“The ability to cast a ballot is a fundamental right that has come under attack in the last few years,” said Representative Johnson. “I have filed legislation that seeks to reverse this trend in order to protect the rights of all voters, while at the same time making the process more welcoming in hopes of increasing participation,” he continued. These voting rights measures are the first five bills filed by Rep. Johnson in the 83rd session of the Texas Legislature.

California: Lawmaker proposes letting California teens ‘pre-register’ to vote at age 15 | SanLuisObispo.com

California teens could submit paperwork to get on the state's voter rolls three years before they are allowed to cast a ballot under legislation introduced this week. Senate Bill 113, by Democratic Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, would let Californians "preregister" to vote at age 15, giving the state the nation's youngest minimum age for submitting an affidavit of registration. While the teens would not be able to vote until turning 18, the Santa Barbara Democrat said she hopes the change would increase the number of active voters by linking the "positive experience" of getting a learner's permit at the Department of Motor Vehicles with registering to vote. Teens could also use the state's new online registration system under the measure, which is sponsored by Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Montana: Another voting bill draws heavy opposition, Sponsor says it’s misunderstood | MTPR

A bill requiring a Montana issued identification card in order to register to vote prompted a long line of opponents during its Wednesday hearing. One person did line up to speak in favor of the bill but was dismissed for not approaching during the time designated for bill proponents. Representative Ted Washburn (R-Bozeman) is sponsoring several bills this session to modify the state’s voter registration process, including one which would eliminate Montana’s same-day voter registration system. He says he believes the current system is open to potential fraud, but that his voter ID bill (HB 108) does not confront those issues.

Nebraska: Younger Voter Registration Age? Local Students Vote Yes | kptm.com

In the last presidential election, one out of every five voters was younger than 29. Some local high school seniors are hoping to bring that number up next time, and they want to do that by lowering the age at which one can register to vote. Being a high school senior can be busy, as Jake Bruckner and Shayn Dow know. The two Omaha South students' days are packed with clubs, sports, and work. Now, they have one more thing to squeeze onto their resumes.

Nebraska: Students Take on Legislation that Would Allow for 16-Year-Old Voter Registration | 1011Now

Students in Omaha South High School’s Character In Action (CIA) service learning class have been working with State Senator Amanda McGill to take on the organizing and drafting and introduction of LB 127 which would allow 16-year-olds to be able to register to vote. Over the past few months, these students have conducted research, worked to build a supportive community coalition, and met with legislative staff, community organizers, Senator McGill, and a bill drafter to discuss and begin the drafting process. Students will soon prepare to testify before the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee on the bill.

Florida: Some lawmakers push to make voter registration automatic | BayNews9

In the way of higher-than-usual turnout for November's election, advocates say even more people would have turned out if registering to vote were easier. Voting is an essential American right, but to exercise it, Americans have to sign up. The process takes a couple of minutes, but in Florida, hundreds of thousands of people haven't registered. That would change under a new Democratic bill, which says anyone who is eligible to vote and has a driver's license would be automatically registered.

Iowa: Schultz plans to proceed with voter registration rule changes | Quad City Times

Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz said Wednesday he expects to move forward in March with new rules intended to protect voting rights and prevent unauthorized people from casting election ballots. “I feel pretty confident where we stand. We really have been very measured in the way we’ve approached this issue,” said Schultz, who noted that rule changes he has proposed to take effect as early as March 13 have the backing of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

Iowa: Senator says Schultz lacks authority to implement voter registration rules | Radio Iowa

The incoming president of the Iowa Senate suggests Iowa’s top election official does not have the authority to implement rules that set up a system for removing non-citizens from voter registration rolls. Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, questions the effort from Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz. “Regardless of our opinion on the proposed rules, whether we’re for it or against it…I believe that this rule has exceeded the authority of the secretary of state’s office,” Jochum says. “I believe these are issues that are for the legislative branch of government.”

Arizona: March Supreme Court hearing for voter-registration case | Arizona Republic

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 18 will hear arguments surrounding Arizona's 2004 voter-approved requirement that residents show proof of citizenship when they register to vote. In the case surrounding Proposition 200, state attorneys will ask the high court to overturn a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said the state cannot require Arizona voters to provide documents when registering with the federal form, but it can require voters registering with the state form to do so. Among its provisions, the National Voter Registration Act creates a standard federal registration form that all states must accept. It requires applicants to sign a statement that they are citizens, but it does not require them to show any proof.

North Carolina: Voter ID law could hinder more than 600,000 voters | WECT

More than 600,000 registered voters in North Carolina could be left out of the voting booth if a voter ID bill becomes law. Former Governor Bev Perdue vetoed the last bill, but current Governor Pat McCrory will have the final say this time around. Before state lawmakers start a new session at the end of January, the State Board of Elections compared voter registration records with information from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

South Carolina: Lawmakers: State fails on voter ID promises | Times and Democrat

Orangeburg County lawmakers say the state is failing to tell voters they don’t need photo identification to cast a ballot under South Carolina’s new voter ID law. Tuesday’s special election in Branchville will be the first one in the state under the new law. But Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter says officials aren’t telling residents they only need a valid voter registration card to cast a ballot and photo identification is not required. The Orangeburg Democrat said she will bring up the matter in the General Assembly, which opens its new session Tuesday. But “that’s after the fact. The town is having the election” Tuesday, she lamented. “The question is who doesn’t vote because they don’t know” they don’t need a photo ID, said Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.

Cyprus: Last-minute dash to register for elections | Cyprus Mail

Hundreds of Cypriots made last minute applications yesterday to become eligible to vote in next month’s presidential elections.
According to head of the Interior Ministry’s Electoral Service, Demetris Demetriou, the number of people who registered on the electoral roll in the last five days equalled the tally collected for the last three months. The Electoral Service, District Offices, and Citizen’s Service Centres around the island closed their doors at 5pm yesterday to those eligible voters wishing to add their names to the electoral roll, both domestically and abroad, ahead of the February 17 presidential elections.

Arizona: State makes example out of few caught voting twice | USAToday

"Vote early and vote often" is a laugh line politicians often invoke as they make a pitch for people's support. But it's no laughing matter to a half-dozen former Arizonans, who have been prosecuted for voting twice in past elections. Thanks to a data-sharing agreement among 20 states, Arizona can cross-reference its voter data with other states and ferret out people who vote more than once in the same election cycle.

California: More young voters register unaffiliated | SFGate

Young adults in California flexed their muscle in the voting booth in 2012, registering in record numbers and increasingly choosing "no party preference" to the two major political parties, a new study shows. The study by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change and the California Civic Engagement Project also showed that Democrats reaped big numbers this year among voters 18 to 24 with the start of online voter registration - a trend that could shape future elections and campaigns.

South Carolina: Richland’s fiasco has South Carolina lawmakers pushing to put state in charge of elections | TheState.com

Dueling, partisan bills were filed Tuesday at the State House to change the way elections are run across South Carolina. The proposals are the first statewide ripple effect from Richland County’s election meltdown that outraged thousands, disenfranchised uncounted would-be voters and held no one accountable six weeks after the fiasco. Bills sponsored by Democrats call for stripping local election boards of their power and centralizing control in the State Election Commission. The state agency also would set statewide standards for qualifications of local election directors, mandate their training and generally transfer supervision away from all 46 counties.

Ghana: NPP urges Electoral Commission to clarify the status of biometric machines used in Ghana presidential election | BiometricUpdate.com

The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the Electoral Commission in Ghana to clarify the status of all biometric verification machines used in the country’s latest election, earlier this month. General Secretary Kwado Owusu Afriyie has made these calls, as reports of District Returning Officers allege that they had received instructions to reset biometric machines to zero verification at the polling stations, Joy Online reports. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) party’s John Dramani Mahama has won the election with 50.7% of the vote, narrowly defeating the NPP’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who held 47.74% of the vote.

Florida: Former Gov. Charlie Crist to testify in U.S. Senate about Florida election law | Palm Beach Post

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will testify about the electoral process in Florida on Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington. Crist left the Republican Party at the end of his gubernatorial term in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent when it became apparent he would lose the primary to Marco Rubio. Last week he registered as a Democrat and he has told The Palm Beach Post he is weighing whether to run for governor as a Democrat in 2014. Crist has been critical of changes made to Florida election laws by the GOP-controlled legislature and Republican Gov. Rick Scott in the past two years.

Missouri: Technology moving elections toward electronic ID | Columbia Missourian

Although Missouri has no photo identification requirement for voting, thousands of residents showed their driver's licenses to get ballots this year. That could become the new norm because of technological advances that use of the bar codes embedded in driver's licenses to check in people to vote. In roughly 20 states and about one-fifth of Missouri counties, local election officials this year used laptop computers or tablets to verify eligible voters. In many of those instances, prospective voters provided a driver's license or voter registration card containing a bar code, which when scanned by poll workers automatically matched their identities against a computerized list of registered voters to determine if they were eligible to vote and in the correct precinct.

National: U.S. Should Consider Automatic Voter Registration: Holder | Bloomberg

The U.S. should consider automatically registering eligible voters and extending voting hours to counter the November election’s long lines and administrative hurdles, Attorney General Eric Holder said. Holder, speaking today at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, proposed expanding access for voters and overhauling a registration system he called “antiquated.” “It is important for national leaders, academic experts, and members of the public to engage in a frank, thorough and inclusive discussion about how our election systems can be made stronger and more accessible,” Holder said in prepared remarks.

New Jersey: Everyone Counts Secures 10-Year, Multimillion-Dollar Contract | San Diego Business Journal

Everyone Counts, a locally based provider of software as a service voting systems, recently received a 10-year contract from New Jersey to design the state’s voter registration system. The company’s eLect Registrator technology is based on its eLect Platform, which provides multiple layers of security, military-grade encryption of ballots and the ability to audit the system at any time, according to the company website.

Voting Blogs: Why We Should Still Pay Attention to Voter Registration Drives | Brennan Center for Justice

If you thought voting rights battles ended with the election, think again. Tomorrow morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will hear argument in an action challenging Texas’s new laws restricting voter registration drives. U.S. District Court Judge Gregg Costa issued an injunction blocking the laws in August. The Brennan Center, along with the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote, has filed an amicus brief urging the appellate panel to uphold the lower court’s ruling.