Flaw found in electronic voting machines - Optical scan machines (which scan paper ballots) in Pennsylvania and California deleting votes without leaving a trace. The Morning Call.
Significant election reforms to be discussed (and possibly implemented) in New York State - If you're a citizen of New York State, this is important news. From now until November, hearings will be held on a series of election reform bills. This past week the following bills were discussed:
The bill package for the April public hearings include:
* S1616 (Senator Valesky) —Allows voters to register and vote on Election Day through a Constitutional amendment.
* S3372 (Senator Addabbo) —Allows voters to register and vote on Election Day (once Constitution is amended).
* Bill Number TBD —Reduces the deadlines for changing party enrollment to 25 days prior to an election for unaffiliated voters and 90 days for those already registered to a party.
* S3996 (Senator Addabbo) —Reduces the deadline by which a registration must be received from 25 to 10 days before an election.
* S3995 (Senator Addabbo) —Provides an additional opportunity for new registrants to indicate choice of party enrollment where original choice was omitted or void.
* S1266 (Senator Montgomery) —Educates the incarcerated and those released but serving sentences about their voting and absentee ballot rights and provides for assistance in registering and voting by absentee ballot.
* S4035 (Senator Addabbo) —Requires State Board of Elections to address forms to local county board when voter downloads from the Web-site.
The schedule for hearings is as follows:
April—Voter Registration
Hearings April 23rd in Buffalo at the Erie County Legislature, April 24th in NYC
at 250 Broadway
Committee meeting April 28thMay—Casting a Ballot/ Poll Sites
Hearings May 11th in Albany, May 14th in Syracuse (TBD)
Committee meeting May 19thJune—Board of Elections Oversight
June 3rd in Albany, June 12th in NYC
Committee meeting June 16thSeptember—Election Code Reform (TBD)
November—Election Oversight (TBD)
If you're interested, more information is available here and here.
Georgia Bill Signed, Requires Proof of Citizenship When Registering to Vote - From Ballot Access News:
On May 5, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed SB 86, which requires voters to submit documents (such as a birth certificate or naturalization papers) when registering to vote. The only other state with such a law is Arizona. See this news story. It will be interesting to see if the U.S. Justice Department approves the change. Georgia is covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, so Georgia can’t change any election law without getting approval.
Electronic voting machines in U.S. at risk from foreign hackers attacking military computers - A military expert warns of the dangers posed by hackers to military supercomputers and voting machines. The government spent over $100 million fending off hackers last year, yet complaints about election machines generally get dismissed as isolated incidents. The Boston Progressive Examiner via Daily Voting News.
[Indiana] bill would allow online voter registration - A few small changes have been proposed in Illinois voting procedure, including allowing voter registration online for voters with valid ID, consolidating Johnson County's voting centers, and allowing elected officials to see why a voter has cast a provisional ballot. The Chicago Tribune via Daily Voting News.
Campaigners fined for illegal '08 votes - In a very, very rare case of actual voter fraud (as opposed to election fraud), three people were convicted of voting for Obama in the wrong state. T he Columbus Dispatch via Daily Voting News.
