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May 11, 2008 Providing legal resources and election news to California election officials and the attorneys who represent them. |
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« April 2005 | Main | June 2005 » May 30, 2005 "U.S. Voter Turnout Up in 2004, Census Bureau Reports""Sixty-four percent of U.S. citizens age 18 and over voted in the 2004 presidential election, up from 60 percent in 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. Tables from a November survey also show that of 197 million citizens, 72 percent (142 million) reported they were registered to vote. Among those registered, 89 percent (126 million) said they voted. In the 2000 election, 70 percent of citizens were registered; and among them, 86 percent voted." The Census Bureau's full press release can be found here. Thanks to Ernie Hawkins for sending me this item. Posted by Randy Riddle at 07:53 AM | Permalink. . . May 28, 2005 "Voting system change in Dade likely""Miami-Dade is poised to be the first place in the nation to ditch the iVotronics paperless voting machines for paper-based balloting after the county's top election supervisor on Friday issued a memo ''strongly recommending'' the change. ''I don't know of any other jurisdiction that has been using iVotronics that has moved to a paper-based system,'' said Ken Fields, a spokesman for Election Systems & Software, the company that makes the machines. ``In fact, to the contrary, jurisdictions around the country have increasingly seen the value of the iVotronic technology.'' The story is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:53 PM | Permalink. . . May 27, 2005 "Cook Co. switching to optical scan ballots"The story is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 01:16 PM | Permalink. . . "ITAA Warns Purchase Delays will Endanger HAVA Compliance""Testifying before the Election Assistance Commission this week, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) warned that states and counties waiting to purchase voting systems implementing the new Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) are in danger of missing the 2006 deadline for Help America Vote Act (HAVA) compliance. "Under a best-case scenario, it will be difficult for states and counties to meet the HAVA deadlines" for the purchase and implementation of accessible voting systems, said ITAA Election Technology Council (ETC) Director Michael Kerr. "Recognizing that it often takes three to six months for counties to select a system and complete contracts, and many more months for shipping, acceptance, and customizations, waiting for the 2005 VVSG will effectively preclude counties and states from completing their transition to new voting technology under the deadlines established by HAVA." The story is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 10:46 AM | Permalink. . . May 26, 2005 "Voters Group: Fla. Audit Shows Problems""A voters' rights group said Wednesday its audit of November's presidential election ballots in Miami-Dade County showed counting problems _ and an unintentional but worrisome instance of a number of votes being counted three times. A report released by the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition said during the elections there were "serious problems with policies and procedures that are supposed to protect the integrity of the ballot." You can find the story here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:38 AM | Permalink. . . May 25, 2005 "Council says no to mail-in election""A proposal to conduct San Diego's special mayoral election by mail July 26 was junked by the City Council last night. City Clerk Charles Abdelnour recommended the mail-in ballot election last week as a cost-saving measure for cash-strapped San Diego, and Mayor Dick Murphy asked the council to give it "careful consideration." But Murphy reversed course after several colleagues raised concerns about a radical departure being proposed just two months before the important election, when voters also will decide the fate of the Mount Soledad cross." You can find the story here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:45 AM | Permalink. . . "Score of counties join suit on vote-machine deadline"Here is the Cleveland Plain Dealer story. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:43 AM | Permalink. . . "EAC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SELECTED"Here is the EAC press release. Congratulations to Executive Director Wilkey. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:39 AM | Permalink. . . May 21, 2005 "Mayor Bloomberg Says No Paper Trail Is Necessary With Electronic Voting""The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 05:20 PM | Permalink. . . "Instant runoffs still years away""Alameda County can't expect vote software from Diebold until at least 2008" The Oakland Tribune article is here.
Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:00 AM | Permalink. . . May 19, 2005 "Democrats Challenge Schwarzenegger Over Special Election Funding""In recent days Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been ramping up plans for a November special election to put a package of major state reform initiatives before California voters. Now, California Democrats are asking how a state saddled with a massive budget deficit is planning to foot the huge financial bill for holding a statewide special election." "The article is here.
Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:31 PM | Permalink. . . "Lawyers prepare for June 6 clash over Felton water""Felton residents will be back in court June 6 to argue over the wording of a voter pamphlet for Measure W. Measure W is the ballot measure for Felton voters to decide on a special tax to buy out their waterworks, now owned by California American, and join the San Lorenzo Valley Water District." The Santa Cruz Sentinel article is here. Disclosure: I represent the real parties in interest in this litigation, who are the authors of the challenged ballot argument. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:57 AM | Permalink. . . "Is Mail-In Balloting The Wave Of The Future?""The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:36 AM | Permalink. . . May 17, 2005 "McPherson says new lines can't be in place for 2006 elections""Secretary of State Bruce McPherson cast more doubt Tuesday on the need for a special November election, saying the new legislative and congressional districts sought by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can't be in place for elections next year. "There's no way I can see that we can make 2006," McPherson, California's top elections official, told members of the Sacramento Press Club. "Maybe 2008, but that's a question mark." The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:26 PM | Permalink. . . "Abortion measure to be on ballot"Here is the Sacramento Bee story. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:43 AM | Permalink. . . "More mail-in elections proposed""The latest proposal to make voting in California easier and more reliable doesn't involve touch-screens, software or machines worth more than your car. Burned by voting machine problems, the state that spawned the computer revolution may turn instead to snail mail in hopes of boosting voter participation, lowering election costs, ensuring verifiable results and guarding against fraud." The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 06:31 AM | Permalink. . . May 16, 2005 "EAC considers new voting system guidelines""The Election Assistance Commission is considering changes to voting system guidelines that could beef up security for the systems." The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:43 AM | Permalink. . . "Eight state initiatives await final approval""Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has said he will encourage Schwarzenegger to reimburse at least some of the funds to counties, which has occasionally been done in past special elections. However, he emphasized that the final decision comes down to the governor. Schwarzenegger’s bigger decision, regarding whether the special election will even occur, must be made by June 13 in order to take place on Nov. 8." The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:00 AM | Permalink. . . May 15, 2005 "Alternative to e-voting is needed: the mailbox""Touch-screen voting machines are fine for counties, like Santa Clara, that want them. But a simple and cheap alternative -- voting by mail -- should be available for counties that don't want technology forced on them. AB 867, which faces a key Assembly committee vote this week, would let San Mateo, Santa Cruz and five other counties switch to all-mail balloting for the next five years as a large-scale pilot program. If voting by mail works as predicted, the Legislature should give every county the choice of adopting it." The Mercury News Editorial is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 11:34 AM | Permalink. . . May 12, 2005 "Yolo's registrar takes on governor""She says only a judge could make her hold a $300,000 special election in November." The story is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:26 AM | Permalink. . . "City Clerk Is Counting on a Smoother Vote""As elections go, the evening of the March 8 vote in Los Angeles was hardly the best of times for City Clerk Frank T. Martinez. Fog grounded city helicopters that were to carry ballots from distant precincts to downtown, there were delays counting ballots and there were allegations — none proved true — of ballot tampering. As a remedy to some of those problems, a different voting system will be used in Tuesday's mayoral runoff that will also decide one City Council seat and two charter amendments." Here is the story. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:22 AM | Permalink. . . May 11, 2005 "Approval of voting machine disputed""A state regulatory board on Tuesday approved a new Diebold touch-screen voting machine for Ohio voters, although the device lacks all the state's requirements. The AccuVote-TSX slid in under a state-imposed certification deadline set for Friday -- even as Diebold competitor Election Systems & Software continued to fight the time constraint in a courtroom across town." The story out of Ohio is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:47 AM | Permalink. . . "Five measures may make state ballot""Supporters of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reform plans said Tuesday they had collected enough signatures to place three measures on the November ballot, while opponents announced they were submitting two competing initiatives." Here is the story. Posted by Randy Riddle at 09:30 AM | Permalink. . . May 10, 2005 "Vote procedures changed for primary""Following criticism of ballot-counting methods during the mayoral primary, City Clerk Frank Martinez said Monday that he's invited the secretary of state and the two mayoral candidates to monitor the process in next week's runoff." The story is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 08:43 AM | Permalink. . . May 09, 2005 "Florida voting machine turns up in resident's yard""Somehow, a Florida voting machine from the infamous hanging-chad presidential election of 2000 landed on a walkway outside John Harker's Palo Alto home Thursday morning." The rather bizarre story can be found here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 01:27 PM | Permalink. . . May 05, 2005 "Voting devalued"The Boston Globe editorial is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 02:02 PM | Permalink. . . "All-mail vote likely""Monterey County could continue to conduct all-mail elections for local contests under the terms of a bill that passed its first legislative review Tuesday." The article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 10:16 AM | Permalink. . . "Voting-machine maker sues Blackwell""Voting-machine maker Election Systems & Software sued Ohio's elections chief Monday, claiming he delivered a virtual monopoly to Diebold Inc. last month that breaches his deal with ES&S. The lawsuit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, charges that Secretary of State Ken Blackwell held secret, closed-door negotiations with Diebold unbeknownst to ES&S and a third certified vendor, Hart Intercivic." The Cleveland Plain Dealer article is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 10:12 AM | Permalink. . . "As We See It: Secretary of state bill a good idea""The secretary of state’s job is a partisan office, and a potential challenger to the office would like a change. We agree." The Santa Cruz Sentinel editorial is here. Posted by Randy Riddle at 10:06 AM | Permalink. . . |
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