The Voting News Weekly for June 5-12, 2011

The Voting News Weekly for June 5-12, 2011

"Beastly" No Vote Billboard in Bangkok

Tuesday's primary in New Jersey witnessed numerous voting machine reporting problems on both Sequoia Advantage and ES&S iVotronic DREs. It appears unlikely there will be any independent review as local election officials are relying on the vendors to investigate themselves. After GOP officials were caught on tape last week scheming to burden Democratic challengers with 'spoiler' primary candidates that would require primaries before this summer's recall elections, 'fake' candidates, mostly GOP operatives have dutifully filed papers. Not to be outdone, Democrats have followed suit and it looks like taxpayers will fund, and election officials will administer, a whole round of charade elections for the political benefit of the parties. After staunchly defending their internet voting platform, the Estonian parliament has bowed to pressure from OSCE observers and computer security experts and formed a task force to review the security of the system. Earlier this month the capital city Talinn moved to abolish e-voting in their municipal elections. Pauline Hanson's challenge to her narrow loss in the New South Wales parliamentary elections in March took a bizarre turn with the revelation that several key player were in fact the same person. Voter ID proposals moved forward in North Carolina, New Hampshire, Alabama and Pennsylvania. The GOP effort to end Maine's 40 year tradition of Election Day Registration elicited heated debate with the State Republican chairman shocking even members of his own party with accusations that Democrats "steal elections." The ruling party's plans to use electronic voting machines has met with fierce opposition from several other parties in Bangladesh and led to a nationwide general strike. The New York Times questions GOP efforts nationwide to make voting more burdensome and Politico posted a comprehensive review of the potential impact of state election code changes on the 2012 election.

Jun 11, 2011 06:16 am

Vote count glitch probed in Sussex County — ES&S iVotronic | New Jersey Herald

The unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election are in, again, and there are no official winners, yet, but the numbers all match up, unofficially. The computer problems that shut down the counting of votes were solved the next day when a consultant from Elections, Systems & Software, the software provider for the county’s election board, suggested the board should just start over. And that is just what it did.

… The number of voters matched the number of voters recorded on the paper records that poll workers keep at each polling place, McCabe said. And there were no surprises or recall of winners with Wednesday’s tabulations, now unofficially being reviewed by the Sussex County Clerk’s Office, which must confirm the totals before they become official.

The one thing that was officially confirmed Tuesday is that the county has a glitch in the election process, and no one knows what causes it.

… What caused the duplicated votes in Green during April’s school election is still a question that goes unanswered by Elections, Systems & Software. Several calls from the New Jersey Herald to the software company immediately after the April mishap have not been returned.

Company officials have a new question to answer regarding this week’s primary. According to McCabe, once the county clerk verifies the primary results and confirms the winners, the election board will run an “in depth” audit of Tuesday’s election. The audit will record “every keystroke that was made that night,” McCabe said, and those results will be sent to the consultants at Elections, Systems & Software for an answer.

“We have a little time before the November election,” McCabe said.

McCabe speculated that the issue is in the software that tabulates the final vote tallies from the cartridges that are collected at the county offices in Newton. The voting machines that are located at each municipality’s polling places did not have any problems collecting the votes from the public, McCabe said. The problem was with the counting of the votes at the county’s facility, which houses a server and five work stations to perform that task.

Full Article: New Jersey Herald.

See Also:

• Primary election results still under review – by the vendor ES&S | New Jersey Herald
• Technical glitch shakes up Sussex County New Jersey election results – ES&S iVotronic DRE | New Jersey Herald
• Westmoreland buys more voting machines – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
• Samyabadi Dal says yes, Janata League no to electronic voting in Bangladesh | The Daily Star
• Judge hears Colorado Secretary of State Gessler ballot request | Center Post Dispatch

Jun 11, 2011 06:11 am

Democrats may join GOP in fielding ‘fake’ candidates in recalls | JSOnline

Wisconsin’s unprecedented recall elections could soon get even more complicated. A coalition of union groups active in state Senate recalls now advocates that Democrats field fake Republican candidates to run in primary elections against GOP state senators — just as Republicans are fielding fake Democrats to run against those who challenging GOP incumbents.

Friday evening, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin issued a statement that neither endorsed nor ruled out the idea, saying the party will “review the options available.”

The proposal from We Are Wisconsin, described in an email from Kelly Steele, communications director, was sent earlier Friday. The email argued that it was necessary to keep Republicans from hijacking the election process, and called on interested Democrats to contact the state Democratic Party and volunteer to run as Republicans in the districts of six GOP senators subject to recall elections.

Steele says he hadn’t coordinated the We Are Wisconsin statement with the Democratic Party. The push for fake GOP candidates comes after Republicans began fielding fake Democratic candidates in those same districts.

Democrats would have to work fast to collect signatures for their fake Republican candidates, if they decide to do that. Tuesday is the filing deadline for those recall elections.

Full Article: Democrats may join GOP in fielding ‘fake’ candidates in recalls — JSOnline.

See Also:

• ‘Protest’ Democratic candidate surfaces in Darling recall election | JSOnline
• Former county GOP leader to challenge Shilling as Democrat in Wisconsin recall election | LaCrosse Tribune
• Vote count glitch probed in Sussex County – ES&S iVotronic | New Jersey Herald
• Democrats file ethics complaint against Iowa Secretary of State | Iowa Caucuses
• Malfunctioning Voting Machines Delay Primary Results in Somerset County NJ | Basking Ridge, NJ Patch

Jun 10, 2011 07:53 am

Estonian Parliament Sets up E-Voting Working Group | ERR

On June 9, the Parliament’s Constitutional Committee established a working group tasked with shoring up regulations related to the country’s much-touted e-voting system.

… Though Estonia’s groundbreaking national e-voting system, introduced in 2005, is widely considered reliable by international observers, it came under fire last month after an OSCE review found a number of legal and procedural holes in the way it was being used.

In early June, the Tallinn City Government filed a motion with the Supreme Court to abolish e-voting at future local elections, citing many of the same concerns.

Among complaints voiced by City Council Chairman Toomas Vitsut was a lack of uniformity between electronic and paper voting, as those participating in the former are allowed to change their votes multiple times while others are not.

Despite possible problems, the system’s popularity is not in doubt. Over 24 percent of voters who cast their ballots during the March parliamentary elections did so electronically.

Full Article: Parliament Sets up E-Voting Working Group | Politics | News | ERR.

See Also:

• Tallinn Looks to Disallow E-Voting at Local Elections | ERR
• Vancouver voters to get online choice this fall | The Vancouver Observer
• OSCE recommends that Estonia regulate e-voting in more detail | The Baltic Course
• How Estonians became pioneering cyberdefenders | CSMonitor.com…
• British Columbia government says no to online voting in Vancouver | The Vancouver Observer

Jun 10, 2011 06:16 am

Star witness in Hanson case fronts court | ABC News

A Sydney teacher and father of three who allegedly led Pauline Hanson to believe her New South Wales election result had been sabotaged has appeared in court. Sean Castle appeared in the NSW Supreme Court and apologised for not showing up when required to on Wednesday.

“My name is Sean Castle. I have represented myself as being Michael Rattner,” he said. “Firstly, I sincerely apologise to the Supreme Court for my conduct in not attending the court on June 8. “I’ve given an undertaking today to the court that I will attend any further hearings as required by the court until excused by the court.”

Earlier this week, a warrant was issued for a man identified as Michael Rattner after he failed to appear to give evidence in the case.

He is allegedly the source of leaked emails between NSW Electoral Commission staff that are central to Ms Hanson’s challenge.

The One Nation founder ran for the NSW Upper House in the March state election and missed out on a seat by 1,300 votes.

Ms Hanson is challenging the result on the basis of the alleged emails mentioning dodgy staff may have put votes for her in blank ballot piles.

On Thursday, Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham, the man who narrowly defeated Ms Hanson for the seat, raised the possibility she may have been duped after saying he had been contacted by a man claiming to be a journalist.

The man, named Michael Wilson, purported to work for The Daily Telegraph newspaper and claimed to be in touch with Mr Rattner.

Full Article: Star witness in Hanson case fronts court — ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

See Also:

• It wasn’t him, it was me, admits man behind Pauline Hanson email leak | thetelegraph.com.au
• Three characters in search of a Hanson recount may be one person | The Australian
• Vote count glitch probed in Sussex County – ES&S iVotronic | New Jersey Herald
• Estonian Parliament Sets up E-Voting Working Group | ERR
• Big voter turnouts and perceptions of fraud | NewsObserver.com…

Jun 09, 2011 09:20 am

Big voter turnouts and perceptions of fraud | NewsObserver.com

Since North Carolina Republicans introduced a Voter ID bill in February that would require all citizens to show a photo ID before voting, one thing has become crystal clear. State efforts are part of a nationwide drive to tighten rules on voting. In the past two months no less than 13 state legislatures, all of them controlled by Republicans, have advanced Voter ID legislation.

Sponsors in North Carolina and elsewhere claim showing driver’s licenses or a similar card will eliminate voter fraud and, as the North Carolina bill is named, “Restore Confidence in Government.” Democrats have countered that there has been no wave of election fraud that needs fixing. Instead, they insist, Republicans are trying to make it harder for the elderly, the poor and the transient — those who often lack driver’s licenses — to vote. They compare the measure to historic poll taxes that once disfranchised thousands of North Carolinians.

Partisan battles over vote fraud are hardly new to North Carolina. Historically, claims of vote fraud have been loudest directly after moments of suffrage expansion.

The last time Republicans controlled the legislature they championed suffrage rights, coming to power as part of a Populist-fusion ticket that galvanized poor white and black voter participation across the state in 1896. Democrats, in turn, claimed massive voter fraud had polluted the state, and linked claims of voter fraud to white victimization that culminated in the return of Democrats to power and new voting rules that disfranchised most African-American men and many poor whites as well.

Claims of election fraud also followed the arrival of full voting rights in the 1960s, as conservative activists sought to discredit African-American and poor people’s political gains. In both instances, arguments for white supremacy gained traction by linking increased voting by poor people and people of color, in particular, with vote fraud.

Although nothing in current Voter ID laws explicitly mentions the race of the potential voter, some Democrats claim Republican sponsors of this year’s legislation are trying to turn back the clock, to craft a whiter electorate. Republicans, on the contrary, claim moral high ground by defending the voting rights of those who participate “legitimately.” Illegal aliens have no such rights, Republicans argue, and their efforts to vote under fake surnames necessitate the new law.

But why would undocumented immigrants, who fear deportation for any encounter with law enforcement, risk all by voting? And is there any evidence that such fraud exists or has been increasing?

In North Carolina, there was no appreciable uptick in voter fraud during the last presidential election. The registered electorate did grow by more than 500,000, however, making 2008 one of the largest expansions of suffrage in the state’s history.

Many of these new registrants were historically sporadic voters — poor people, African-Americans and especially students. Durham County saw the largest proportional increase in voter registrations in the state, yet not a single credible case of voter fraud was documented during 2008.

Full Article: Big voter turnouts and perceptions of fraud — Other Views — NewsObserver.com….

See Also:

• Maine Voices: Legislature should not revoke Mainers’ voting rights | The Portland Press Herald
• They Want to Make Voting Harder? | NYTimes.com…
• Students in Crossfire in Battles Over Voting Rights | Brennan Center for Justice
• Battle Looms Over Florida’s Elections Bill | Sunshine State News
• Tennessee considers proof of citizenship for voter registration | wbir.com…

Jun 09, 2011 09:10 am

Maine Voices: Legislature should not revoke Mainers’ voting rights | The Portland Press Herald

The Maine House and Senate are poised to limit the most fundamental democratic process — voting. L.D. 1376, “An Act To Preserve the Integrity of the Voter Registration and Election Process,” will eliminate Maine’s nearly 40-year tradition of Election Day registration. It is a very bad deal for Maine voters. Election Day registration means that voters can register and vote on the same day. It works well.

Eliminating Election Day registration will disenfranchise the thousands of Maine citizens who rely on it. And to what end? There have been only two cases of voter fraud prosecuted in Maine in 30 years. In addition to Maine’s tradition of election integrity, we have a tradition of vibrant civic engagement. In fact, Maine has one of the highest rates of voter participation in the country.

This move will turn back the clock on our democracy. It will turn back the clock on voting rights.

Imagine a member of the military who completes her service shortly before an election and returns home to Maine, not able to vote because she was unable to get to the registrar’s office in town before the deadline. Imagine a busy single mom, recently relocated, unable to find care for her children so she can get to the town office to register.

Their civic responsibility — their constitutionally protected right to vote — is deferred. These are the real-life consequences of making it harder to register and vote.

The impact will be felt most by those who move frequently and by those who live on the economic margins. One of the three largest predictors of who turns out to vote is how often they move.

Full Article: Maine Voices: Legislature should not revoke Mainers’ voting rights | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

See Also:

• Big voter turnouts and perceptions of fraud | NewsObserver.com…
• Bill to end same-day voter registration in Maine a solution in search of a problem | Bangor Daily News
• Battle Looms Over Florida’s Elections Bill | Sunshine State News
• Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho: Florida Elections Bill is a Travesty
• GOP chairman’s charge that Democrats ‘steal’ election causes stir | Bangor Daily News

Jun 09, 2011 09:02 am

Samyabadi Dal says yes, Janata League no to electronic voting in Bangladesh | The Daily Star

Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal ML yesterday supported introduction of electronic voting e-voting system in upcoming general election while Krishak Sramik Janata League opposed it saying the system is not enough to prevent vote rigging.

Leaders of the two parties expressed their opinions in seperate dialogues with Election Commission EC at its secretariat in the city as part of its ongoing dialogue with 38 registered political parties till July 14.

EC launched the dialogues on Tuesday for opinions on key issues like use of e-voting machine; Representation of the People Order; laws on demarcation of constituencies and appointment of election commissioners. Both parties stressed on the need for establishing a free and powerful EC to conduct a neutral election.

… CEC Dr ATM Shamsul Huda and two commissioners M Sohul Hussain and M Sakhawat Hossain were present during the talks. Shamsul said the government has no influence over EC to introduce the e-voting system, which is an EC initiative.

“We planed this two years ago. The prime minister started talking about the issue recently, making it seem political,” he said.

Meanwhile, main opposition BNP firmly opposed introducing the e-voting system saying the government plans to use it to rig the next election. While visiting the US and the UK, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said BNP would not participate in the election if the e-voting system is introduced.

Full Article: Samyabadi Dal says yes, Janata League no.

See Also:

• E-voting in next election says Bangladesh Prime Minister – opposition parties object | bdnews24.com…
• Editors tell Bangladesh Election Commission: Don’t do E-Voting alone | bdnews24.com…
• BNP won’t join Bangladesh election commission dialogue | The Daily Star
• BSD favours e-voting for Bangladesh | bdnews24.com…
• Election Commission dialogue: LDP against e-voting in Bangladesh | bdnews24.com…

Jun 06, 2011 09:10 am

They Want to Make Voting Harder? | NYTimes.com

One of the most promising recent trends in expanding political participation has been allowing people to vote in the weeks before Election Day, either in person or by mail. Early voting, which enables people to skip long lines and vote at more convenient times, has been increasingly popular over the last 15 years. It skyrocketed to a third of the vote in 2008, rising particularly in the South and among black voters supporting Barack Obama.

And that, of course, is why Republican lawmakers in the South are trying desperately to cut it back. Two states in the region have already reduced early-voting periods, and lawmakers in others are considering doing so. It is the latest element of a well-coordinated effort by Republican state legislators across the country to disenfranchise voters who tend to support Democrats, particularly minorities and young people.

The biggest part of that effort, imposing cumbersome requirements that voters have a government ID, has been painted as a response to voter fraud, an essentially nonexistent problem. But Republican lawmakers also have taken a good look at voting patterns, realized that early voting might have played a role in Mr. Obama’s 2008 victory, and now want to reduce that possibility in 2012.

Mr. Obama won North Carolina, for example, by less than 15,000 votes. That state has had early voting since 2000, and in 2008, more ballots were cast before Election Day than on it. Mr. Obama won those early votes by a comfortable margin. So it is no coincidence that the North Carolina House passed a measure — along party lines — that would cut the early voting period by a week, reducing it to a week and a half before the election. The Senate is preparing a similar bill, which we hope Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat, will veto if it reaches her.

Republicans said the measure would save money, a claim as phony as saying widespread fraud necessitates ID cards. The North Carolina elections board, and many county boards, said it would actually cost more money, because they would have to open more voting sites and have less flexibility allocating staff members. Black lawmakers called it what it is: a modern whiff of Jim Crow.

More than half of the state’s black votes were cast before Election Day, compared with 40 percent of the white votes. A similar trend was evident elsewhere in the South, according to studies by the Early Voting Information Center, a nonpartisan academic center at Reed College in Oregon. Blacks voting early in the South jumped from about 13 percent in 2004 to 33 percent in 2008, according to the studies, significantly outpacing the percentage of whites.

Full Article: They Want to Make Voting Harder? — NYTimes.com….

See Also:

• Big voter turnouts and perceptions of fraud | NewsObserver.com…
• Battle Looms Over Florida’s Elections Bill | Sunshine State News
• Senator Nelson blasts Florida state election reform | The News Herald
• Bill Nelson Warns Rick Scott to Veto Election Bill or Face a Federal Investigation | Broward Palm Beach News
• Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho: Florida Elections Bill is a Travesty

Jun 05, 2011 09:15 am

How state legislatures could affect the 2012 elections | POLITICO.com

The push to rig the 2012 presidential election is under way.

There’s nothing illegal about it: Across the country, state legislatures are embroiled in partisan battles over election-law changes that, by design or effect, could play a significant role in determining the outcome of the presidency.

So far this year, there’s been legislation aimed at overhauling the awarding of electoral votes, requiring that candidates present a birth certificate, not to mention a wide assortment of other voting rights and administration-related measures that could easily affect enough ballots to deliver a state to one candidate or another. Experts say the explosion of such efforts in the run-up to 2012 is unprecedented — and can be traced back to a familiar wellspring.

“Florida in 2000 taught people that election administration really can make a difference in the outcome of an election,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the liberal Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

Few legislators come right out and admit they’re aiming to influence the 2012 presidential race. But they don’t always need to.

In Nebraska’s ostensibly nonpartisan unicameral legislature, a recent bill designed to undo the quirky way the state awards its electoral votes spoke for itself. One of just two states that awards its electoral votes by congressional district — rather than to the overall state winner — strongly Republican Nebraska managed to deliver one of its five votes to Barack Obama in 2008. The reason? The Obama campaign targeted and won the district that includes Omaha.

Suddenly, Republicans viewed the system, in place since 1991, as unfair, and a bill was introduced to remedy the situation. The plan fell short — as did an effort to tighten voter identification requirements — but Democrats were nevertheless outraged.

“Look who introduced the bill to eliminate the split electoral vote. Look who introduced the voter ID bill. Perhaps coincidentally, they were both Republicans,” said Nebraska Sen. Brenda Council, an Omaha Democrat.

“The split electoral vote provides the Democratic Party in this state with a limited opportunity in that congressional district. Clearly, both parties try to use the process and the procedures to their advantage,” she said.

Another presidential election reform, the National Popular Vote initiative, has also been viewed by some as a sour-grapes electioneering measure.

An interstate compact that seeks to end-run the electoral college by throwing the election to the winner of the most total votes, its backers insist it is nonpartisan. It’s true that some GOP legislators have backed it, but the eight jurisdictions that have adopted it — seven states plus Washington D.C. — form a checklist of America’s bluest states, none of which have voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988.

And the idea is rooted in the searing experience of 2000, when Democrat Al Gore lost the presidency despite winning the popular vote.

Full Article: How state legislatures could affect the 2012 elections — Molly Ball — POLITICO.com….

See Also:

• Big voter turnouts and perceptions of fraud | NewsObserver.com…
• Maine Voices: Legislature should not revoke Mainers’ voting rights | The Portland Press Herald
• They Want to Make Voting Harder? | NYTimes.com…
• Vote count glitch probed in Sussex County – ES&S iVotronic | New Jersey Herald
• Estonian Parliament Sets up E-Voting Working Group | ERR

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