May 09, 2008

Providing legal resources and election news to California election officials and the attorneys who represent them.

« February 2005 | Main | April 2005 »

March 31, 2005

"Electronic voting problems discovered in Miami-Dade"

"A computer glitch caused Miami-Dade County's electronic voting machines to throw out hundreds of ballots in a special election and raised questions about votes in five other municipal elections, officials said."

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:39 AM | Permalink. . .

March 30, 2005

"Assembly confirms McPherson as secretary of state"

"Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, urged a yes vote from his Democratic colleagues, saying, "Bruce is a good man, and we're counting on you, Mr. McPherson, to take a nonpartisan approach to how you govern in this office."

Here is the Sacramento Bee story.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 02:38 PM | Permalink. . .

"Committee forwards secretary of state nomination to Assembly"

The Chronicle story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 01:46 PM | Permalink. . .

March 29, 2005

"Governor's backers, foes scramble to make ballot"

The San Diego Union Tribune article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:52 AM | Permalink. . .

March 26, 2005

Federal Bills to Amend HAVA

Here are links to the pending federal bills to amend HAVA.

House Bills:

H.R. 278 Know Your Vote Counts Act of 2005

H.R. 470 Improving Electronic Voting Standards and Disclosure Act of 2005

H.R. 533 Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2005

H.R. 550 Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005

H.R. 704 Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2005

H.R. 939 Count Every Vote Act of 2005

Senate Bills:

S. 17 Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2005

S. 330 Voting Integrity and Verification Act of 2005

S. 414 Voter Protection Act of 2005

S. 450 Count Every Vote Act of 2005

Posted by Randy Riddle at 04:12 PM | Permalink. . .

March 24, 2005

"Former President Jimmy Carter, Former Secretary of State James Baker to Convene New Commission on Federal Election Reform"

The press release is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 02:54 PM | Permalink. . .

Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting Hearing

Here is the agenda for the April 5, 2005 meeting of the Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting:

ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
UMBERG, Chair

1:30 p.m. -Room 444

BILLS HEARD IN SIGN IN ORDER

Measure: Author: Summary:

A.B. 16 Huff. Campaign contributions.

A.B. 40 Wolk. Political Reform Act of 1974: conflict of interest:
lobbying interests. (Urgency)

A.B. 158 Bermudez. Voter registration deadlines.

A.B. 187 Mountjoy. Overseas military voting.

A.B. 215 Oropeza. Code of fair campaign practices.

A.B. 216 Oropeza. Election precincts.

A.B. 347 Huff. Political Reform Act of 1974: enforcement.

A.B. 432 Oropeza. Elections: New citizens.

A.B. 783 Jones. Elections: payment of expenses.

A.B. 866 Yee. Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

A.B. 891 DeVore. Political Reform Act of 1974: slate mailer organi-
zations.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:28 AM | Permalink. . .

"Latinos use voting-rights law to force district elections"

The SF Chronicle story about the first use of the 2002 California law is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:03 AM | Permalink. . .

March 22, 2005

City Clerk Defends Over-Marking of Mayoral Ballots

The LA Times story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:41 AM | Permalink. . .

March 21, 2005

LA Mayoral Election Won't Be Disputed

This article follows concerns about the handling of inkavote ballots.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:21 AM | Permalink. . .

Chronicle Favors McPherson Confirmation, Bowen Bill

The Chronicle editorial supporting confirmation of Secretary of State Nominee McPherson and enactment of SB 11 can be found here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:06 AM | Permalink. . .

Congress should leave elections to the states

Rebecca Vigil-Giron, the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State and New Mexico secretary of state, offers her views here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:38 AM | Permalink. . .

March 18, 2005

State Initiative Update

According to the Secretary of State's Office, there are now 43 statewide initiative petitions in circulation, and another 36 pending in the Attorney General's Office awaiting title and summary.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 11:51 AM | Permalink. . .

EAC Meeting Agenda

Here is the agenda for the March 22, 2005 meeting of the Election Assistance Commission. Thanks to Ernie Hawkins for sending this along.

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 (10:00 AM-12:00 PM)

LOCATION: EAC Offices (1225 New York Ave., Suite 1100, Washington, DC)

MEETING AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS:

REPORTS:

Title II Requirements Payments to States
Margaret Sims, Election Research Specialist, U.S. EAC

Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC)
Mark Skall, Division Chief, Software Diagnostics and Conformance Testing
Division, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST)

EAC Election Day Survey Analysis
Kim Brace, President, Election Data Services

PRESENTATIONS:

”The Role of the United States Election Assistance Commission as a Clearinghouse”

Honorable Pedro A. Cortés, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania
Tony J. Sirvello, III, Executive Director, International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers (IACREOT)
Edward A. Hailes, Jr., Senior Attorney, Advancement Project

Posted by Randy Riddle at 11:07 AM | Permalink. . .

Electionline.org Paper on Provisional Balloting

Electionline's very thorough discussion of the use of provisional ballots in the 2004 election is available here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:25 AM | Permalink. . .

March 17, 2005

Provisional Ballot Fight in North Carolina

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 02:01 PM | Permalink. . .

Legislative Action on Election Bills

The Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments passed S.B. 11, S.B. 39 and S.B. 117, and voted down S.C.A. 4.

The Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting passed A.B. 5 and voted down A.B. No. 43.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 11:04 AM | Permalink. . .

March 16, 2005

"Senate committee OKs former senator as secretary of state"

The AP article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 04:10 PM | Permalink. . .

"Bill would limit election official's political role, donations"

The Chronicle has this story about the actions taken today by the Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 04:08 PM | Permalink. . .

"Passions run high on voter ID bill"

The story about the new Georgia voter ID law is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 10:27 AM | Permalink. . .

Senate Committee Analyses

Here are links to staff analyses of some of the bills that will be considered today by the Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments:

SCA 4 Analysis (Making Secretary of State a nonpartisan office)

SB 11 Analysis (Limiting political activities of Secretary of State, and contributions by election system vendors)

SB 39 Analysis (Permanent Absentee Voters)

SB 117 Analysis (Prepaid envelopes for absentee ballots)

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:02 AM | Permalink. . .

March 15, 2005

AB 5 Committee Analysis

Here is the committee analysis for AB 5, a bill to make the office of Secretary of State nonpartisan. As the analysis points out, a constitutional amendment may be necessary to accomplish this purpose.

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Tom Umberg, Chair
AB 5 (Canciamilla) - As Introduced: December 6, 2004

SUBJECT : Secretary of State: Candidates.

SUMMARY : Makes Secretary of State (SOS) a nonpartisan post.
Specifically, this bill :

1)Designates the office of SOS a nonpartisan office.

2)Requires a candidate for SOS to file a Declaration of Intent
to Make Endorsements (DIME), indicating whether or not the
candidate intends to endorse candidates for public office or
ballot measures.

3)Makes various findings and declarations about partisan
activities by elections officials.

4)Makes conforming and technical changes.

EXISTING LAW provides that judicial, school, county, and
municipal offices are nonpartisan offices.

FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program;
contains reimbursement direction.

COMMENTS :

1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author, "The duties of
the Secretary of State, like those of local elections
officials, are ministerial and not partisan in nature. Local
election [officials] adhere to a code of ethics which
prohibits them from endorsing candidates or ballots measures
to ensure the public that there is no favoritism or the
appearance of partiality in conducing elections. That system
works well and there is no real reason why it should not be
applied to state elections. There should be no Democratic or
Republican way to conduct elections, just the fair way."

The author indicates that he "became interested in this issue
due to the controversy surrounding Kevin Shelley and to what
happened in other states. Both the Secretaries of State in
Florida (2000) and in Ohio (2004) were co-chairs of the Bush
campaign, which left them and the manner in which elections
were conducted in those battleground states open to criticism
of partiality."

2)Is A Constitutional Amendment Required ? According to
Legislative Counsel, an amendment to the state's constitution
may be required in order to make the SOS a nonpartisan office.
The state Constitution establishes the office of SOS, and
provides that all judicial, school, county, and city offices
shall be nonpartisan. Because the constitution requires the
Legislature to provide for partisan primary elections and
because the constitution specifies a list of offices that are
nonpartisan, Legislative Counsel argues that a
constitutionally established office must be a partisan office
unless that office is specified as nonpartisan in the
Constitution.

3)Could This Bill Hide Partisan Bias by Secretaries of State ?
The author expresses concern that partisan Secretaries of
State may be unable to enforce election law in a nonpartisan
manner, or, at the very least, can undermine voters'
confidence that elections will be conducted in a fair and
impartial manner. However, it is unclear whether making the
SOS a nonpartisan post would fundamentally change the behavior
of candidates for SOS or the behavior of the SOS once he or
she is in office.

In a state the size of California, it is difficult for an
individual to be elected statewide without having previously
held another state office. Other than Superintendent of
Public Instruction, all elective state offices are partisan
offices. As such, it is likely that a large portion of viable
candidates for SOS will have held partisan office prior to
running for, or while running for, SOS. The last two elected
Secretaries of State, Bill Jones and Kevin Shelley, were
members of the state Assembly prior to being elected Secretary
of State. Both held leadership positions with their
respective party caucuses - Jones served as Republican Leader,
while Shelley served as Majority Leader.

Unless making the SOS a nonpartisan office fundamentally changes
the types of people who run for the office, it is likely that
the post will continue to be held by individuals who have held
partisan office and who have been involved in other partisan

activities. If this is the case, making the SOS a nonpartisan
office may actually serve to make partisan bias by a SOS less
apparent. To the extent that the public is unaware of a SOS's
partisan affiliation, the public may be less watchful for
questionable partisan activities by that official.

4)Declaration of Intent to Make Endorsements : This bill requires
every candidate for SOS to file a declaration indicating
whether or not he or she intends to endorse candidates and
ballot measures. The benefit of requiring such a declaration
is unclear. The bill does not provide for any indication, on
the ballot, in the sample ballot pamphlet, or in the voter
information guide, of whether a candidate for SOS intends to
endorse candidates or not. Nor does the bill specify whether
the filed declaration would be a public document and, if it is
a public document, where it is made available to the public.
This bill specifies that the DIME will be filed along with the
declaration of candidacy, which means that the DIME will be
filed with the county elections official. However, because
different candidates are likely to file their declarations of
candidacy in different counties, there will not be a central
repository for DIMEs. While existing law requires the county
elections official to forward all nomination documents for
candidates for SOS to the office of the SOS, DIMEs would not
be considered nomination documents. In order to make DIMEs
more accessible to the public, it may be appropriate to amend
this bill to require DIMEs to be forwarded to the SOS.

Additionally, it is unclear what recourse would be available if
a candidate for SOS files a DIME indicating that he or she
does not intend to endorse candidates or ballot measures, but
subsequently does endorse candidates or ballot measures.
Because this bill does not provide for any corrective or
punitive action to be taken when a candidate for SOS acts in a
manner that is inconsistent with his or her DIME, it is not
clear whether requiring candidates for SOS to file DIMEs will
have any practical effect.

5)Related Legislation : SCA 4 (Denham), pending in the Senate
Elections Committee, makes SOS a non-partisan post. SB 787
(McClintock), also pending in the Senate Elections Committee,
prohibits elections officials from taking part in certain
specified political activities.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :

Support

None on file.

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:44 AM | Permalink. . .

McPherson's Transition Team

The bios of Bruce McPherson's Secretary of State transition team are contained in this press release.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:31 AM | Permalink. . .

AB 43 Committee Analysis

Here is the committee analysis for AB 43, being heard in committee today, which would amend the write-in ballot statute that gave rise to litigation in the San Diego Mayor's race.

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Tom Umberg, Chair
AB 43 (Vargas) - As Introduced: December 6, 2004

SUBJECT : Write-in candidates.

SUMMARY : Requires a write-in vote to be counted if the intent
of the voter is clear, regardless of whether the voter complied
with all voting instructions. Specifically, this bill :

1)Repeals a requirement, currently applicable to voting systems
in which write-in spaces appear directly below the list of
candidates for each office and provide a voting space, that
the voting space next to the write-in space be marked or
slotted in order for the write-in vote to be counted.

2)Provides that any name written upon a ballot for a qualified
write-in candidate, including a reasonable facsimile of the
spelling of a name, shall be counted for the office if the
name of the write-in candidate is written in the manner
described in the voting instructions.

3)Provides that provisions of law governing the counting of
write-in votes shall be liberally construed to ensure that
each ballot is counted if the intent of the voter can be
determined, regardless of whether the voting instructions have
been literally complied with.

EXISTING LAW provides:

1)For voting systems in which write-in spaces appear directly
below the list of candidates for each office and provide a
voting space, no write-in vote shall be counted unless the
voting space next to the write-in space is marked or slotted
as directed in the voting instructions.

2)For voting systems in which write-in spaces appear separately
from the list of candidates for that office and do not provide
a voting space, the name of the write-in candidate, if
otherwise qualified, shall be counted if it is written in the
manner described in the voting instructions.

FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. State-mandated local program;
contains reimbursement direction.

COMMENTS :

1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:

AB 43 was drafted in response to the November 2004 San
Diego Mayor's race. Over 5,500 ballots went uncounted
because voters failed to fill in the oval bubble next to
the write-in candidate's name. Subsequently, a lawsuit was
filed to count ballots on which a candidates name is
inscribed upon the appropriate line, even if a
corresponding bubble is not shaded. The presiding judge
rejected the suit, stating "I find that [the] election
code?should be given its plain meaning?That to cast a vote
you have to fill in the oval. Those votes should not be
counted. The challenge fails." The election code must be
modified to protect the will of the voter.

Protecting voters' rights is one of our fundamental duties.
Over 5,500 voters were disenfranchised by a technicality
last election in San Diego. This bill defends the basic
principle of democracy to protect the will of a voter when
casting a vote and will protect voters in future elections
across California.

2)San Diego Mayor's Race : Donna Frye was a qualified write-in
candidate for mayor in the city of San Diego at the November
2004 general election. When the official canvass of election
results was completed, it showed Frye finishing second to
incumbent mayor Dick Murphy by 2,108 votes. A recount,
requested by five media organizations and two Frye supporters,
uncovered a total of 5,551 ballots in which a voter wrote-in
Frye's name on the ballot in the correct location, but did not
darken the oval next to the write-in space. Had those ballots
been counted for Frye, she would have won the election by
3,443 votes. However, the registrar of voters in San Diego
County refused to count those votes, citing state law that
requires the oval to be filled-in in order for a write-in vote
to count.

This bill would repeal the requirement that the oval next to a
write-in space be filled-in in order for a write-in vote to be
counted. Instead, this bill provides that a ballot for a
qualified write-in candidate to be counted if the name of the
candidate is written in the manner described in the voting
instructions.

In addition, this bill provides that provisions of law governing
the counting of write-in votes shall be liberally construed to
ensure that each ballot is counted if the intent of the voter
can be determined, regardless of whether the voting
instructions have been literally complied with. Existing law
already provides that provisions governing absentee and
provisional voting shall be liberally construed in favor of
the voter. In a future case with issues similar to the San
Diego mayor's race, a provision providing for the liberal
construction of write-in voting laws would appear to require
the counting of votes in which the voter wrote-in the name of
a qualified write-in candidate, but did not fill in the oval.

3)Pending Litigation : On December 30, 2004, a lawsuit was filed
on behalf of two Donna Frye supporters arguing that the 5,551
ballots in which a voter wrote-in Frye's name, but did not
darken the oval next to the write-in space, should be counted.
The attorney that filed the lawsuit contended that because
San Diego's city charter does not explicitly require the oval
next to the write-in space to be darkened, the city charter
should take precedence over the state's election law and the
votes should be counted.

On February 2, 2005, a state judge rejected that lawsuit,
stating "I find that Elections Code 15342(a) should be given
its plain meaning. What it means is what is says: To vote, to
cast your vote, you have to fill in the oval." This case has
been appealed, and is currently pending before the 4th
District Court of Appeals in San Diego.

4)Arguments in Support : According to Lieutenant Governor Cruz
Bustamante, "[t]his measure addresses fundamental notions of
democracy, fairness of our electoral process and validity of
the voter's intent. The need to protect these principles was
evident during the recent mayoral race in San Diego, where the
election outcome was determined by a minor technicality. . . .
This overly technical interpretation of the state law
undermines the basic principle of our democracy - that every
vote counts."

5)Arguments in Opposition : The California Association of Clerks
and Election Officials (CACEO) opposes this bill unless it is
amended to apply only in the case of a recount. In opposition
to this bill, CACEO writes:

As a result of the liberal construction clause, this
proposal would require jurisdictions using optical scan
voting systems to visually inspect each side of every
ballot (and for multi-card optical scan voting systems,
each side of every card of every ballot) for potential
write-in votes. This would be extremely costly and
time-consuming. Jurisdictions would not be able to
complete the canvass within the statutory timeframe, and
contests would not be decided for weeks following the
election. Requiring visual inspection of all ballots or
ballot cards would eliminate the advantages of automated
vote count systems.

6)Similar Legislation : SB 1050 (Bowen), pending in the Senate
Rules Committee, provides that that the failure of a voter to
mark the voting space next to the write-in space shall not
preclude a write-in vote from being counted if the intent of
the voter can be determined.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :

Support

Ballot Access News
League of Women Voters of California
Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante

Opposition

California Association of Clerks and Election Officials

Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:15 AM | Permalink. . .

"Supes to hear report on new voting system requirements"

The article abouit Humboldt County's efforts to select a voting system to comply with HAVA and state law is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:12 AM | Permalink. . .

March 14, 2005

"County Every Vote Act of 2005

S. 450 is the Senate version of this bill, introduced by Senator Clinton last month. Here is the bill's table of contents:

TITLE I—VOTER VERIFICATION AND AUDITING
Sec. 101. Promoting accuracy, integrity, and security through preservation of
a voter-verified paper record or hard copy.
Sec. 102. Requirement for mandatory recounts.
Sec. 103. Specific, delineated requirement of study, testing, and development of
best practices.
Sec. 104. Voter verification and audit capacity funding.
Sec. 105. Reports and provision of security consultation services.
Sec. 106. Improvements to voting systems.

TITLE II—PROVISIONAL BALLOTS
Sec. 201. Requirements for casting and counting provisional ballots.

TITLE III—ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE HELP
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002
Subtitle A—Shortening Voter Wait Times
Sec. 301. Minimum required voting systems, poll workers, and election resources.
Sec. 302. Requirements for jurisdictions with substantial voter wait times.
Subtitle B—No-Excuse Absentee Voting
Sec. 311. No-excuse absentee voting.
Subtitle C—Collection and Dissemination of Election Data
Sec. 321. Data collection.
Subtitle D—Ensuring Well Run Elections
Sec. 331. Training of election officials.
Sec. 332. Impartial administration of elections.
Subtitle E—Standards for Purging Voters
Sec. 341. Standards for purging voters.
Subtitle F—Election Day Registration and Early Voting
Sec. 351. Election day registration.
Sec. 352. Early voting.

TITLE IV—VOTER REGISTRATION AND IDENTIFICATION
Sec. 401. Voter registration.
Sec. 402. Establishing voter identification.
Sec. 403. Requirement for Federal certification of technological security of voter
registration lists.

TITLE V—PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES
Sec. 501. Prohibition on certain campaign activities.

TITLE VI—ENDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES
Sec. 601. Ending deceptive practices.

TITLE VII—CIVIC PARTICIPATION BY EX-OFFENDERS
Sec. 701. Voting rights of individuals convicted of criminal offenses.

TITLE VIII—FEDERAL ELECTION DAY ACT
Sec. 801. Short title.
Sec. 802. Federal Election Day as a public holiday.
Sec. 803. Study on encouraging government employees to serve as poll workers.

TITLE IX—TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAINMENT
OF ELECTORS
Sec. 901. Transmission of certificate of ascertainment of electors.

TITLE X—STRENGTHENING THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE
COMMISSION
Sec. 1001. Strengthening the Election Assistance Commission.
Sec. 1002. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain
Government contracting requirements.
Sec. 1003. Authorization of appropriations.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 11:10 AM | Permalink. . .

"Counties chafe at special elections"

The Contra Costa Times article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 10:52 AM | Permalink. . .

March 13, 2005

"Changes Ahead in County's Voting System"

Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin discusses the challenges facing California counties in complying with federal and state voting systems requirements here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:43 AM | Permalink. . .

March 11, 2005

March VSP Meeting Postponed

The March 17 meeting of the Voting Systems and Procedures Panel has been postponed.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 01:07 PM | Permalink. . .

State Senate Hearing on Election Bills

Here is the agenda for the March 16 hearing of the State Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2005

ELECTIONS, REAPPORTIONMENT AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
BOWEN, Chair

9:30 a.m. - Room 3191

MEASURES HEARD BY AUTHOR SIGN-IN ORDER

S.B. No. 8. Soto. Political Reform Act of 1974: conflicts of interest.
S.B. No. 11 Bowen. Contributions: voting equipment manufacturers or vendors.
S.B. No. 39 Murray. Absentee voting.
S.B. No. 117 Murray. Elections: absentee ballots.
S.B. No. 145 Murray. Political Reform Act of 1974: contributions. (Urgency)
S.C.A. No. 4 Denham. Secretary of State.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:08 AM | Permalink. . .

March 09, 2005

Report: Some Md. Vote Machines Problematic

You can find the story here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:30 PM | Permalink. . .

LA Might Temporarily Shelve Its New Voting System

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:27 PM | Permalink. . .

"Virtues of Optical-Scan Voting"

The New York Times provides its views here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:03 AM | Permalink. . .

"Dense Fog, New Voting System Delay Counting of Ballots"

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:34 AM | Permalink. . .

March 08, 2005

Assembly Committee Hearing on Election Bills

The Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting will conduct a hearing on March 15, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. Here is the agenda, with links to the bills:

TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2005-CONTINUED

ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
UMBERG, Chair

1:30 p.m. -Room 444

ADOPTION OF COMMITTEE RULES

BILLS HEARD IN SIGN IN ORDER

Measure: Author: Summary:

A.B. No. 2 Benoit. Presidential elections: presidential electors.

A.B. No. 5 Canciamilla. Secretary of State: Candidates

A.B. No. 16 Huff. Campaign contributions.

A.B. No. 40 Wolk. Political Reform Act of 1974: conflict of interest:
lobbying interests. (Urgency)

A.B. No. 43 Vargas. Write-in candidates.

A.B. No. 45 Maze. Electoral college.

A.B. No. 158 Bermudez. Voter registration deadlines.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 05:06 PM | Permalink. . .

"Lockyer's Statement Under Fire"

The LA Times has this story about the dispute between the Governor and Attorney General over the AG title and summary for the public pension measure supported by the Governor.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 03:56 PM | Permalink. . .

"Foes put sights on voter list pact"

The story about Wisconsin's troubles in implementing the HAVA voter database requirement can be found here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:13 AM | Permalink. . .

March 07, 2005

Diebold False Claims Act Settlement Order

This is the order issued last December approving the settlement of the False Claims Act lawsuit against Diebold Election Systems, Inc. It requires Diebold to pay $2.6 million, and imposes a number of contracting and disclosure requirements on Diebold.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 01:15 PM | Permalink. . .

March 04, 2005

Builders group uses trickery to check out voters' signatures

The latest strange twist in the ongoing Washington election dispute is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:40 AM | Permalink. . .

Congressional legislation focuses on paper trails

"With the start of the 109th Congress, members from both sides of the aisle are set to tackle election reform, ranging from small initiatives to a complete overhaul of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). Most popular are proposals requiring voter-verifiable paper audit trails." The full story from electionline.org is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:37 AM | Permalink. . .

March 03, 2005

Washington: State Elections 'Unacceptable'

"An election reform task force created by Gov. Christine Gregoire in the wake of her razor-thin margin of victory last year found that the public's trust in the state's election system was damaged by imperfections and mistakes that "are clearly unacceptable." In a 23-page report obtained by The Associated Press, the task force suggests 15 specific actions it wants to see the governor and Legislature take, including moving the primary date up and requiring voter identification at the polls. The report will be released at a news conference with Gregoire this morning in Olympia and this afternoon in Spokane."

The story is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:05 AM | Permalink. . .

March 02, 2005

EAC Testimony to Congress

The Congressional testimony of the Elections Assistance Commission can be found here. And here is the current organizational chart for the EAC. Thanks to Ernie Hawkins for sending me this information.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 11:21 AM | Permalink. . .

March 01, 2005

Schwarzenegger to Hold Special Election

Here is the Chronicle story.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 03:04 PM | Permalink. . .

Nevada County Election Official Opposes Voter ID Bill

The story about Kathleen Smith's views on Assembly Member Keene's bill is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 12:27 PM | Permalink. . .

SB 1016: Voter Privacy

Senator Bowen has introduced SB 1016, which seeks to strengthen the privacy protections for voter registration information. Under the bill, voter registration affidavits would inform registrants that only one type of identification number need be provided, and it would advise them about the confidential voter registration laws. It would also require more specific information from persons seeking voter registration records.

Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:36 AM | Permalink. . .

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