A busy couple of days for voting news. In Texas, the State Senate will debate photo ID legislation tomorrow, and is expected to pass the bill. An citizen audit of South Carolina election results raises questions about ballot reconciliation. A bill to allow all Indiana counties to utilize vote centers is expected to pass, and in international developments Pakistan eyes electronic voting machines.
All this and more in today’s Voting News below.
The purpose of listing “party preference” on the ballot in the top-two systems of Washington and California is to help the candidate communicate a message, and to help the voter know something about the candidate. The U.S. Supreme Court, and the California Supreme Court, have ruled in the past that it is unconstitutional to discriminate for or against candidates, relative to labels on the ballot. Read More
CA: Oakland mayoral runners-up rehash race and look to the future : Local: In Oakland
At a public forum put on by Oakland’s John George Democratic Club, City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan outlined her assessment of the city’s first go at ranked choice voting, while political commentator and professor Joe Tuman announced his plans to pressure the city to reform all employee pensions and police staffing. Read More
CA: Tuteur: Voting only by mail would save $35,000
If Napa County conducted special elections using mail-in ballots only, it could save an estimated $35,000 per election, John Tuteur, the county’s registrar of voters, said. Read More
Examination of election videotapes reveal that the Saguache County Clerk’s office and two judges conducted a secret vote count Nov. 4 from 2 p.m. to about 7:12 p.m. prior to the Nov. 5 “retabulation.”
The video recording copies were obtained through a Colorado Open Records Act request Nov. 16. The county clerk’s office is required by law to keep continuous recordings of all election areas and activities, beginning two months before the election, up to and including any recounts, for two years. Read More
ELECTION OFFICIALS in the District are worried they can’t afford the costs of the city’s upcoming special election for an at-large D.C. Council seat. Among the ideas to save money is limiting the places where people can vote. But changing the rules so close to the election comes with its own cost to the integrity of the process. It’s important that Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and the council ensure that there is sufficient money for election officials to do their jobs. Read More
IL: Chicago ballots ordered printed with no Emanuel – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs
The Chicago Elections Board on Monday placed an order for the printing of two million ballots for next month’s mayoral election without the name of former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel after an Illinois appeals court ruled his name could not be included because he failed to meet the residency requirement. Read More
In a judicial shocker, an Illinois appellate court, by a 2-1 vote, has kicked former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel off the ballot in the race to become Chicago’s next mayor. What’s worse for Emanuel, as the dissenting judge points out, is that the majority booted him with less than one month before the election, just as absentee ballots are to be mailed to voters. Read More
IN: Vote centers on fast track in General Assembly – wsbt.com
The old model of voting in traditional, neighborhood precincts could be on its way out in Indiana.
The General Assembly is moving quickly this year on legislation that would allow election officials in all of the state’s 92 counties to opt instead for vote centers, which are centralized polling places open to all registered voters countywide. Read More
IN: Vote centers get mixed response in Delaware County | thestarpress.com | The Star Press
A legislative initiative to allow Indiana counties to replace neighborhood polling places with fewer centralized locations where they can cast ballots is getting the cold shoulder in Delaware County, where top election officials disagree on how to implement such a plan. Read More
IN: Give the go-ahead to vote centers | The Indianapolis Star | IndyStar.com
They’re popular, they save tax dollars and they make it easier to participate in the democratic process. Read More
KS: Voting hurdles / LJWorld.com
Given the low voter turnout in most local and state elections, it would be a shame to pass laws that discouraged participation by qualified, legal Kansas voters. If Kansas has a problem with voter fraud, it should be addressed, but until that problem can be defined, it doesn’t make sense to pass laws that will set new voting barriers and increase costs for county and state election officials. Read More
ME: Runoff Voting Topic of Meeting
he League of Women Voters is sponsoring a public informational meeting on instant runoff voting on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 121 Bucksport Road in Ellsworth. Read More
MO: Lawyer vows challenge if Missouri revives voter ID rule – KansasCity.com
A lawyer who successfully challenged Missouri’s photo identification law for voters in 2006 plans a new legal argument if the requirement is revived. Read More
MO: Engler: Voter ID and early voting will be combined
A chairman of a key Senate committee said he intends to combine legislation that would require voters to show photo identification with a proposal to allow early voting in Missouri. But it was clear in testimony today that partisan divisions remain deep on both issues. Read More
MS: Write-ins often become wasted votes – Local – SunHerald.com
According to state law, write-in candidates are permitted only as the legitimate substitute of a candidate who has died, resigned, withdrawn or been removed from the race. Read More
Registering to vote online could soon be a possibility in Nebraska. It’s legislation being pushed through by one state lawmaker who says it would simply make it easier for Nebraskans to vote.
Some lawmakers say it will save the state money; others say it will only cost the state more. Read More
NY: Mineola Voters to Use Lever Machines in March Elections – Mineola, NY Patc
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Proprietary software used to operate the optical scan machines in the recent November election was limited to the county and state-wide races. Purchasing the software for each individual municipality was deemed too cost-prohibitive by many of the villages. Read More
The conversation covered: Columbia County’s 100% hand count; the request for a hand count of the NY Senate District 7 contest denied by the state’s highest court; the ongoing Nassau County lawsuit against electronic vote counting; and more. Read More
OH: Husted wants reduction in provisional ballots | The Columbus Dispatch
While the federal courts debate whether Ohio should count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precincts, the state’s top election official says Ohio needs a renewed focus on ensuring that people are voting in the correct precincts. Read More
The commissioners also tabled an $18,800 annual contract with Electec, Inc. to provide voting machine support for the 2011 Primary and General Elections. That item will be addressed at a future meeting, likely with a newly appointed commissioner also weighing consideration. Read More
SC: Dems, GOP sharply divided on voter ID – Local – TheSunNews.com
If you let your hair go gray or lost a lot of weight, if you’re a college student or a senior citizen, or if your job requires long shifts, Susan Breslin says you might have trouble voting in future elections, under a legislative proposal that is up for debate. Read More
SC: Verify Your Vote: Preminary Results from Colleton and Charleston County Not Encouraging
The election officials in Charleston and Colleton Counties are dedicated public servants and we trust their work. However, as in commerce, and other matters as well, verification is necessary. The late President Reagan, during his negotiations with President Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union, liked to quote a Russian proverb, “Trust, but verify”. So it is here. Read More
Frank Heindel, a SC commodities trader, who is mentioned in the article above, has almost single-handedly been taking on the system in his state by demanding transparency, oversight, and accountability via public records requests and meticulous hand-audits of the voting system logs in his state ever since last year’s disastrous primary election. He is an inspiration, frankly, and another one of this nation’s great models for what citizen-led Election Integrity work looks like. Read More
TN: Election meeting ‘circus’ shows challenges ahead | dnj.com | The Daily News Journal
If the most recent Rutherford County Election Commission meeting is evidence, the group’s gatherings are bordering on a local version of “The Jerry Springer Show.” Read More
TN: EDITORIAL: Jones unfit for election panel | dnj.com | The Daily News Journal
Rutherford County Election Commission Chairwoman Doris Jones should step down following a revelation that she had a poll worker fired for criticizing her and other GOP commissioners. Read More
TX: Texas Senate Will Begin Voter ID Debate Tuesday — Voter ID | The Texas Tribune
Most of the drama was saved for another day in the Texas Senate after the first installment of the planned debate over the contentious voter ID bill was postponed. Read More
The Texas Civil Rights Project today criticized Gov. Perry and the Legislature for making Voter ID an “emergency” priority. TCRP director Jim Harrington brings up the usual points about disenfranchisement of minorities, but also brings up an even better one: Voter fraud is a really ineffective way to tip an election. Insider fraud is the real danger. Read More
TX: KRWG: El Paso Area Senator Comments On Texas Voter ID Bill (2011-01-24)
Statement from Senator Jos Rodr guez Regarding Senate Bill 14 (Voter ID):
“With an estimated 100,000 teachers expected to lose their jobs, a proposed $17 billion to be cut from vital health and human services programs and community colleges across our state likely having to shutter their doors due to the $27 billion budget shortfall, now is not the time to focus on a non-existent problem. It is time that we roll up our sleeves to work to address the real issues that face the future of our state. Read More
TX: Bill would require photo ID to vote in Texas
Texas voters would be required to show photo identification before casting ballots under a Republican-backed bill that has been put on a fast track to passage in the state Senate. Read More
TX: Voter ID bill is more stringent than 2009 version | First Reading
As for the legislation itself, several Senate sources who have looked at it say it’s a more stringent requirement than the one on the table in 2009. In 2009, they were talking about requiring photo ID or two forms of non-photo ID; the 2011 bill does not have that non-photo ID option. It does, however, have an exemption from the photo ID requirement for those who are at least 70 years old at the start of 2012 and who have their voter-registration card when they go to vote. Read More
UT: Voting rights got trashed | The Salt Lake Tribune
The real issue in the Utah House District 57 boundary line discussion is this: What about the voting rights of the 660 people in north Cedar Hills who showed up to vote last election? Read More
WI: End to election day registration may be costly – JSOnline
“Repealing it would be shortsighted and would be a tremendous disservice to the voters,” says Kennedy, director of the Government Accountability Board, who also called it a “financially foolhardy step to take.” Read More
Perhaps the most lasting outcome of immigration regulation in the United States is the implementation and enforcement of increasingly complex forms of immigrant documentation. Once upon a time, American employers recruited immigrants, caring little about documentation. Gradually the fear of foreign-born criminals resulted in Congressional pushes for the registration of non-citizens. Read More
WI: Wisconsin’s pretend crisis – JSOnline
The amount of voter fraud does not warrant limiting access to the ballot box for those without photo ID. This would be the elderly, people with disabilities and, disproportionately, low-income voters of color. And I’m not seeing a funded outreach in this bill on a scale that could make a mitigating difference. Read More
International
India: Petition seeks CCTVs in polling booths – The Times of India
The Madras high court on Saturday issued notices to the chief election commissioner and state chief electoral officer seeking a reply by Monday on a petition demanding electronic surveillance in all polling booths to prevent bogus voting, impersonation and tampering of electronic voting machines. Read More
Politicians’ Doubting Of EVM Is A Challenge: Former CEC Gopalaswami – Hyderabad News on fullhyd.com
Calling politicians’ apprehensions about the accuracy of EVMs (electronic voting machines) as one of his major challenges on hand, former Chief Election Commissioner of India N Gopalaswami on Friday said that a concentrated effort must be made to clear these doubts. Read More
India: Pakistan: The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Pakistan eyes EVMs
Some political parties in India might feel electronic voting machines (EVM) can be tampered with, but Pakistan has evinced a strong interest in the machines.
A Pakistan election commission team, which is scheduled to attend the January 25 event, has requested a demonstration and permission for a trip to a factory that makes EVMs. Rout said the Election Commission had decided to grant the request. Read More
Pakistan: Pak EC interested in Indian EVMs – The Economic Times
The Election Commission of Pakistan has evinced interest in Indian electronic voting machines and has requested for a demonstration of the EVMs, the Election Commission said today. Read More
Internet Voting Watch
Changing the rules of the game: the NLRB is making union organizing easier – Lexology
There are indications that the Board is also considering shortening the time between the date of a petition for an election and the election itself. Currently, internal Board rules provide that the period should not exceed 45 days, but it is possible that the Board will reduce that to 14 days. The Board is also looking at implementing electronic voting in elections. Read More
Canada: hqprincegeorge.com | Your community resource
Currently there are more than 30 other municipalities in Canada already allowing online voting. Prince George Councillor Garth Frizzell thinks it is a great way to boost voter turn out as many people are comfortable with technology these days. Read More
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