India: AGP blames machine manipulation for defeat | Hindustan Times

Assam’s beleaguered main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Friday blamed “manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVM) by the ruling Congress party” for its rout in the assembly elections even as the Congress got a decisive mandate for a third successive term.

“We knew the Congress would do something and they did so by manipulating the EVMs. Otherwise such a result would not have come,” former two-time chief minister and senior AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta told reporters.

Pennsylvania: Westmoreland buys more voting machines – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Westmoreland County Election Bureau officials are trying to avoid a repeat of the long lines of voters who waited to cast ballots in the last presidential election. So the county has purchased 21 additional touch-screen computer voting machines to ease the crush of voters in the largest precincts.

“In the larger elections, such as a presidential race, I feel we need more machines in some of our larger precincts,” said bureau Director Jim Montini.

Egypt: India to provide EVMs to Egypt | Hindustan Times

There may be lot of debate in India over efficacy of the Electronic Voting Machines but Egypt, which is holding elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, is willing to try the “wonder machine — the EVMs” — in the country wide polls later this year. Egypt will not be the first country to use Indian

EVMs. They have been successfully deployed in Afghanistan general elections. The Election Commission has also provided inputs to Nepal, Bhutan, Ethopia and Mexico on use of EVMs in making the election process more fair and transparent.

Ghana: No e-voting in 2012, declares Electoral Commission | ModernGhana.com

Ghana will not be using the e-voting technology for the 2012 polls, the Electoral Commission (EC) has declared. The declaration is in response to a campaign for the country to adopt electronic voting for future polls.

The system allows eligible voters to select their preferred candidate by pressing a button on a computer. Campaigners say the system ensures greater transparency. But after meeting the various political parties Tuesday, the EC said it would rather implement the biometric registration.

India: Web cameras will keep an eye on May 13 counting | The Times of India

In a bid to ensure fair and free counting on May 13, the Election Commission, for the first time, will instal high resolution web cameras over each counting table to capture images of the counting process including the final figures that will appear in the electronic voting machines.

Chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar said web cameras would be used in the counting centres across the state. “We will be installing web cameras over each table where counting takes place”, he told TOI. There are 234 counting centres across the state, including three in Chennai.

Egypt: Minister says Egyptian companies will provide technology for electronic voting | Ahram Online

Maged Osman, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, today denied reports Egypt is seeking technological support from abroad to conduct electronic voting in the country’s upcoming elections.

He stressed that the Egyptian government and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has full confidence in the ability of local companies to carry out the task, but admitted there may be teething problems when applying the new methods.

Egypt: Chief Election Commissioner of India visits Egypt | IBN Live News

Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, is visiting Egypt to apprise the top officials in the country about the electoral system in India and the usage of EVMs, as it prepares itself for democratic process after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak regime.

Quraishi is accompanied by a 5-member team from the Election Commission of India which is on a five day visit to Egypt from today. The visit ends on April 23. Egypt’s military rulers had last month announced an interim constitution and said presidential elections would be held by November after Mubarak was ousted in a popular revolution.

India: India Election Commission seeks roadmap for Electronic Voting Machines with printers | Hindustan Times

An Election Commission committee on Friday asked Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) manufacturers the time-frame within which the machines can be upgraded as per its suggestions. The high level technical committee has suggested some up-gradations including installing a small printer in EVMs as reported by HT on Friday, to give out receipts for every vote cast.

The idea is to have a record of all the votes that can be verified. The voter, however, will not get the receipt as the commission believes it could be traded. The concept is called paper trail of votes cast.

National: What Hath HAVA Wrought? Consequences, Intended and Not, of the Post-Bush v. Gore Reforms | Charles Stewart, MIT

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA)1 is the most important direct federal response to the 2000 electoral fiasco in Florida. HAVA had many provisions, some directly inspired by the controversy, others that came along for the ride.

In addition to mandating certain changes in how states conducted federal elections, HAVA appropriated $3b for the improvement of voting systems, most of which went to purchase new voting machines.

Ghana: Ghana Electoral Commission Says No Electronic Voting in 2012 | GhanaWeb.com

The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced it would not introduce the electronic voting system in the 2012 elections. According to the EC, unlike the ballot paper; the processes of vote counting and tabulation in the e-voting system are often invisible which does not satisfy the curiosity of the voters as to whether their votes have been counted or not.

The electronic voting system is expected to help curb cases of double registration, vote rigging, ballot box snatching as well as end the perpetual claim and counter claim of rigging by the parties who take part in elections in the country. The Danquah Institute (DI), a policy think tank, proposed a switch from the manual to the electronic voting (e-voting) system for the 2012 election because they believe it could be the best solution to end not only systemic electoral fraud, but also post election violence in the future.

Egypt: Egypt envoy seeks India’s help in conducting polls | The Times of India

Egypt’s ambassador to India Khaled el Bakly met chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi recently, seeking assistance in conducting elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Parliamentary elections will be held in Egypt in September, followed by presidential polls in November.

During the meeting with Quraishi, Bakly wanted to know about various aspects of election management and electronic voting machines (EVMs). “He asked how fast we can provide EVMs in case they decide to use them,” said a senior election commission (EC) official.  The EC has sent Bakly documents on skills, experience and technical know-how in conducting elections in India.

Colorado: Saguache County Colorado Clerk Myers postpones testing of counting machine | Center Post Dispatch

In a Feb. 15 letter to election volunteers, Saguache County Clerk Melinda Myers postponed testing for the M650 that could destroy any remaining information about the Nov. 2, 2010 election.

Denver attorney Rob Maguire, representing Aspen voting integrity activist Marilyn Marks in a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) suit filed Feb. 11, asked Myers and County Attorney Ben Gibbons to postpone the testing last week so that any possible data could be preserved.