All this and more in today's voting news below.... (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
CA: Oakland ordinance to set-aside campaign aide money hurts Libby Schaaf
http://bit.ly/czEKXn
CA: The real cost of a special election to replace Newsom ($6.5M counting public finance funds) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?&entry_id=59517
San Francisco: Momentum for a special election to replace Mayor Gavin Newsom if he wins his bid for lieutenant governor has slowed considerably, largely because of its $3.5 million price tag.
CA: Internal Affairs: San Jose council rolled the dice and lost
http://www.mercurynews.com/internal-affairs/ci_14714886?nclick_check=1
...Back in August, the San Jose City Council reached a crossroads in its effort to limit "soft money" in elections by capping contributions to independent political groups...On a 6-5 vote... the council voted to keep the cap.
http://bit.ly/dtRT4r ..."Do we really want to argue that we can't afford real elections because all-mail is cheaper? If real democracy cost a little more, do we just skip it for an administrative procedure?"~ Ivan C. Meek Louisville
CO: Polling place voting is more secure and more accurate than mail ballots
http://bit.ly/9FS1za
CO: Bullet Voting in Aspen's IRV Election - Memo by Millard Zimet
http://bit.ly/cQ1AAm ...purpose of this memo is to observe the actual voting data generated by Aspen's May 2009 Mayoral and City Council IRV elections with regards to bullet voting, and to observe whether bullet voting impacted the outcomes...
DE: Delaware Minor Parties Get Publicity for Complaint Against Implementing Tougher Ballot Access Rules in 2010
http://bit.ly/abCjWg ...The bill instantly removed several minor parties from the ballot, including the Constitution, Green, and Working Families Parties
FL: Group wants action on no-audit decision
http://bit.ly/aiGqGP SARASOTA COUNTY - The Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections wants the state attorney and sheriff to investigate Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent's decision not to have a spot-check audit last Tuesday of the school tax referendum results.
FL: Florida Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief in Case on Petitioning at the Polls
http://bit.ly/bFNagE
HI: Hawaii Considers Law To Combat Obama 'Birthers'
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/Hawai.obama.birth.2.1568916.html
If Passed, State Would Be Allowed To Ignore Repeated Requests For President's Birth Certificate
IN: Election costs to rise if pilot vote center program dies
http://bit.ly/axWxGE
KY: Testimony ends in Clay vote-buying trial
http://bit.ly/cCxwrg With that accomplished, prosecution and defense attorneys will present closing arguments Monday and Tuesday, and jurors will begin deliberating Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves said.
KY: No conflict of interest for Grayson (he can oversee his own election)
http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4791736
MA: Pelham recount upholds outcome
http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_078024835.html
About 40 people sat at tables in a cordoned off area in Pelham High School's library to recount the two warrant articles from the March 9 ballot...
MD: Thefts of laptops mistakenly sent to election center remain unsolved
http://bit.ly/aYHVWL It is still a mystery two years later exactly what happened to 60 laptop computers that were stolen from the Montgomery County Election Center.