Alabama: "Recusals delay ex-secretary of state's case"

AP reports that the recusal of three members of (of five) on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has delayed the appeal of the State in former Secretary of State Nancy Worley's criminal case. Read the full story --> Recusals delay ex-secretary of state's case

Alabama: more inmates are registering to vote

The Dothan Eagle reports: Some inmates in the city and county jails will have the chance to vote in upcoming municipal elections, thanks to the Rev. Kenneth Glasgow.

Glasgow and The Ordinary People Society will be registering inmates in the city and county jails and also in the local community corrections program.

Alabama law permits inmates convicted of misdemeanors and felonies not involving moral turpitude to vote. ...

In 2006, 90 inmates in city and county jails statewide voted. In 2007, 300 voted. And in 2008, 2,500 inmates voted, including felons in state prison. The felons were able to vote after Glasgow won a lawsuit regarding the rights of felons not convicted of moral turpitude to vote. -- Read the whole story --> Inmates to vote in city elections | Dothan Eagle

Alabama: Birmingham gets preclearance for earlier election

The Birmingham News reports that the City of Birmingham finally received preclearance for its earlier election date. For earlier stories on this, see here, here, and here.

Alabama: Birmingham's election date still up in the air

The Birmingham News reports: Just a week remains before Birmingham city officials must either set early August city elections or revert to the original fall date. Candidates, city officials and city attorneys still don't know when the election will take place.

Federal approval is needed to change the election to Aug. 25, which the council voted to do to meet a new federal rule that requires six weeks between the election and any runoffs. But to have the election that day, the city would have to receive the OK from the Department of Justice by June 26.

Department of Justice officials recently interviewed council members, the city attorney and officials in Mayor Larry Langford's office about the proposed change. Justice Department approval would have to be received 60 days before the proposed new election date. Otherwise, the City Council and school board elections will be Oct. 13. Read the whole story --> Birmingham city election date still unsettled, week remains until early date possibility dies - al.com

Alabama: Poarch Creek Indians deny challenges to election results

The Atmore Advance reports that the Election Board of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has denied the election challenges brought by 4 candidates. Read the whole story --> The Atmore Advance > Breaking News

Alabama: Challenge to results of Poarch Band of Creek Indians election

The Atmore Advance reports on an election contest filed against the results of the special election held by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians' election for the offices of vice-chairman and two member-at-large positions. -- Read the whole article at --> The Atmore Advance > Archives > Breaking News > UPDATE: PCI election results challenged

Alabama: military-voting bill keeps Alabama at the back of the pack

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: A bill that would have made voting easier for Alabama's mil­itary members died in the last days of the legislative session.

Both houses passed a version of the bill that had little opposi­tion this year and was expected to pass.

Championed by Secretary of State Beth Chapman and her staff, it failed after a campaign finance amendment was added to it. ...

According to Department of Defense figures, as of Aug. 31, 2008, there were 38,657 active, Guard and Reserve members from all service branches, in­cluding the Coast Guard, who listed Alabama as their home. ...

In January, the Pew Center on the States released a report that found Alabama, the District of Columbia and 16 other states, including Georgia and Tennes­see, don't provide enough time for military members abroad to vote.

Alabama topped the list in the time it takes to complete the vot­ing process -- it can take some military voters 88 days from start to finish, the report found. Part of the reason is because Alabama is one of three states -- New York and Wyoming are the other two -- that require every­thing to be sent via the U.S. Post­al Service. --> Read the whole article at Military voting bill likely won't apply to 2010 elections | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

New Hampshire: DOJ drops Tobin case

TPMmuckraker reports: Has the New Hampshire phone-jamming case finally come to a quiet end?

Federal prosecutors have dropped their case against former regional NRSC official James Tobin in connection with a GOP plot to jam the phone lines of the New Hampshire Democratic party on Election Day 2002, reports the Associated Press.

Tobin had been acquitted of involvement in the plot -- for which two GOP consultants have served jail time -- but was being tried on new charges of lying to investigators. A court dismissed those charges, and last week an appeals court rejected prosecutors' appeal. --> Read the whole report at Feds Drop New Hampshire Phone-Jamming Case | TPMMuckraker

Alabama: Birmingham's election date still undetermined

The Birmingham News reports: Birmingham City Council members and candidates for city elections are incensed that there still is no definite date set for council and school board elections.

The City Council three months ago voted to ask the Department of Justice for permission to move up the election dates to comply with the federal Help America Vote Act. However, a request was not sent to Washington until May 7.

City Clerk Paula Smith recently sent a memo to the council listing two election schedules - one if the Justice Department approves the new dates and another if approval is not granted. ...

Some council members said they were misled by Cooper into believing the process was much further along than it actually is. --> Read the rest of the story at Birmingham, Alabama's election day remains undecided - al.com

New Jersey: "E-Voting Machines on Trial"

Danielle Citron writes on Concurring Opinions: On Monday, a New Jersey Superior Court wrapped up a fifteen-week trial in Gusciora v. Corzine. There, plaintiffs challenged New Jersey’s use of e-voting machines on the grounds that the machines cannot be trusted to count the votes accurately given how easily they can be hacked. The trial centered on security problems of the state’s 11,000 e-voting machines manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems. Plaintiffs argued that the machines are vulnerable to physical and digital attacks that could compromise elections. Expert witnesses in the case included Professor Andrew Appel from Princeton University, Dr. Roger Johnston of Argonne National Laboratory, and Professor Wayne Wolf of Georgia Institute of Technology, who testified that vote-stealing software could be installed by attackers without specialized training or expensive equipment. At trial, the experts demonstrated multiple hacks of the machines’ source code and user interface, attacks on the machines’ circuitry, and methods for bypassing New Jersey’s physical security measures. ---> Read the rest at E-Voting Machines on Trial

Alabama: election contest voided by state supreme court

The Gadsden Times reports: In an opinion released Friday, all nine justices of the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee County Circuit Court did not have jurisdiction to decide the election contest case that evolved from the Cedar Bluff municipal election of Aug. 26, 2008.

After the results were certified in Cedar Bluff's general election on Sept. 2, three candidates - two for council positions and one for mayor- filed a contest suit saying that absentee ballots were not handled properly and that those votes should not be counted. ...

Justice Michael Bolin, in writing the court's opinion, said an election contest cannot be brought until a candidate is "declared elected" after a run-off election. In addition, he emphasized that an election contest cannot be brought in any court unless allowed by state statute.
Bolin wrote, "It is well settled that the Legislature, by enacting Title 17-16-44, has restricted the jurisdiction of the circuit courts in regard to elections." -- Cedar Bluff election ruling overturned | GadsdenTimes.com | Gadsden Times | Gadsden, AL

Alabama: PAC-to-PAC transfer bill dies after effort to tack on anti-Artur Davis provision

The Birmingham News reports: Legislation aimed at helping soldiers overseas vote electronically in elections died Friday after the Senate added an unrelated provision to prohibit a federal campaign from giving to a state race.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman said "political games" killed the bill. ...

The House passed the military voting bill, but the Senate on April 30 added language that would prohibit a federal candidate or officeholder from transferring funds to a state campaign for office. Doing so would be a violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Act, senators wrote.

Chapman and legislators said Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, made the change to the bill. Several legislators said they thought the change was aimed at stopping U.S. Rep Artur Davis from transferring his federal campaign money to his state race for governor. -- Military voting bill dies on final night of session; Chapman says politics killed it - al.com

Alabama: prosecutors did not charge Sen. McClain with misuse of campaign funds, but want to enhance his corruption sentence any way

The Birmingham News reports: Federal prosecutors today will ask a judge to sentence former state Sen. E.B. McClain to 17½ years in prison.

A lengthy prison sentence is warranted, prosecutors say, because McClain has a penchant for breaking the law for personal gain, a claim they plan to back up by introducing evidence of illegal conduct for which McClain has not been charged. The sentence is also needed to send a stern message that public corruption won't be tolerated, they say. ...

From 2001 to 2007, McClain routinely broke state law by taking campaign funds for personal use, according to the sentencing memo. According to prosecutors, McClain:

Either transferred or deposited directly at least $85,000 in campaign funds into his personal account, then used those funds to pay personal expenses.

Made at least 26 ATM cash withdrawals from a campaign fund totaling $8,500 and used the money at dog tracks and casinos in Alabama and Mississippi.

Used more than $14,000 in campaign funds to buy furniture and appliances and to make mortgage payments. He also made $4,400 in ATM cash withdrawals on another occasion. It's unclear what that money was used for. -- Federal prosecutors seek to sentence former state Sen. E.B. McClain to 17½ years and the Rev. Samuel Pettagrue to 14 years - Page 2 - al.com

Alabama: Birmingham's slow preclearance request for election-date change has potential candidates and council worried

The Birmingham News reports: The city last week filed its formal request with federal officials to move up the City Council and school board elections - more than two months after the City Council voted for the change. ...

However, the delay in filing the request has some asking when the actual election will be held, when qualifying will open and when the real campaign season will begin.

Council and school board elections were set for Oct. 13, but the council in February voted to move the elections to Aug. 25. Cooper had said the change was needed because of provisions in the federal Help America to Vote Act that requires six weeks between the election and any runoffs. That provision was mandated to allow absentee and overseas ballots to be counted.

Under Birmingham's schedule, there have been only three weeks between the general election and runoffs. -- Birmingham, Alabama, files request with U.S. to shift election date months after council voted for change - al.com

Alabama: judicial candidates to face additional requirements

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: The Alabama Legislature has passed a bill to set minimum expe­rience requirements for judges.

The House gave final approval Thursday to a bill that requires a state appeals court judge to have been a lawyer for at least 10 years. Circuit judges would need five years' experience and district judges three years. The require­ments will take effect for judicial candidates in next year's elec­tions. Current judges are exempt. -- Alabama legislators set experience for judges | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

Alabama: ethics charges against Hale County judge arising from election investigation

The Tuscaloosa News reports: A Hale County circuit judge has been accused by the state's Judicial Inquiry Commission of ethical violations over how he handled a voter fraud investigation involving three of his relatives.

The complaint handed down by the commission alleges that Judge Marvin W. Wiggins violated seven of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics in failing to recuse himself 'in a timely manner' once the Alabama Attorney General's Office requested that he do so. ...

The allegations against Wiggins date to his involvement with the December 2006 empaneling of a grand jury that the attorney general's office requested for its voter fraud investigation.

During that investigation, the attorney general's office investigated three of Wiggins' relatives: Wiggins' sister Gay Nell Tinker, who served as Hale County Circuit Clerk from 2001 to 2007; state Sen. Bobby Singleton, who was married to Tinker at the time and was Wiggins' brother-in-law; and Wiggins' cousin, Carrie Reaves.

The state's voter fraud investigation eventually resulted in the August 2007 indictments of Valada Paige-Banks and Rosie Lyles for their alleged criminal involvement in two 2004 elections.

Tinker was indicted in March 2008 on 13 felony offenses pertaining to voter fraud. -- Judge accused of ethical violations | TuscaloosaNews.com | The Tuscaloosa News | Tuscaloosa, AL

Note: The complaint is available from the Alabama Court of the Judiciary website.

Over 33 Million Dollars Wasted in 100 counties in 2008 Due to Antiquated Voter Registration System

Guest post by Lisa Gilbert, U.S.PIRG Democracy Advocate

If only one lesson was well learned in the recent elections, it is that their success or failure is entirely dependent on the resources and skills of our local and state-level election officials.

The 2008 elections were noteworthy in many ways, for example, the 3.4 million more young voters who participated last fall than in the 2004 cycle. However one thing that the increased participation helped to spotlight are the enormous obstacles and cost inefficiencies inherent in our out-of-date voter registration system.

These challenges cost taxpayers millions and make it harder for election officials to do their jobs.

In U.S.PIRG’s new report, “Saving Dollars, Saving Democracy,” (http://www.uspirg.org/voting-democracy), the 100 counties surveyed had over $33,467,910.00 of public money spent on simple registration implementation and registration error-correction issues in 2008.

Furthermore, as significant as these sums are, we know that they are really only the tip of the iceberg in our country.

In addition to the costs of the endless data-entry and ongoing dealing with errors that our report looked at in detail, almost every county has still further costs associated with our antiquated system.

For example, in Los Angeles County, entering the massive amounts of registration forms into the database system leads to an expense of over $56,000 in every major countywide election just to mail supplemental voter rosters to poll inspectors in time for Election Day.

From coast to coast local election officials have similar stories of being forced to apply expensive band-aids in order to effectively administer the registration system.

If we modernized our system we could both eliminate the majority of the registration cost burden local officials bear and register more citizens. A more modern system would reallocate funds and enable local officials to more effectively administer our elections.

“Saving Dollars, Saving Democracy” (found at http://www.uspirg.org/voting-democracy) recommends implementing a more automatic system that links existing federal and state databases with the state voter rolls to do this.

It is time to put our taxpayer dollars into activities that promote our democracy, like citizen election education and pollworker training, rather than into data-entering forms.

Alabama: GOP block non-partisan election of judges in Marshall County

Republicans block nonpartisan judicial elections - NewsFlash - al.com
AP reports: "Republicans block nonpartisan judicial elections." In Alabama we have a strange creature called a "local constitutional amendment" by which the voters of one city or county can amend the state Constitution. That is what Rep. Jeff McLaughlin of Guntersville (in Marshall County) was proposing: a local constitutional amendment for Marshall County to allow its judges to run in nonpartisan elections.

The amendment failed by a vote of 50-0. It needed 63 votes (60% of the House's total membership) to pass. The Republicans abstained to kill it.

Alabama: Sparks accuses Davis of violating state campaign law by using congressional fundraising for gubernatorial campaign

The TimesDaily reports: Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks said Friday that U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, of Birmingham, broke campaign finance laws for using money from congressional fundraisers for his gubernatorial bid before June 1.

June 1 is the first day candidates can legally begin raising campaign money.

Davis and Sparks have both said they running for governor in 2010.

"He has broken the law; he violated the law," Sparks said in an interview. "How can you run around having congressional fundraisers, not filing with the secretary of state and handing the money over to your campaign, and he's the guy coming out talking about ethics?"

Davis campaign spokeswoman Anna Ruth Williams said Davis stopped congressional fundraising and filed his campaign papers with the secretary of state last week as soon as he realized his campaign had passed the $25,000 spending threshold that mandates filing. -- Sparks says Davis broke finance rules | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

Florida: keep those lawyers away from the voters

The New York Times reports: Republican lawmakers, who control both houses of the Legislature, have proposed sweeping changes to the state’s election laws, including new procedures on registering voters, and requiring voters to use a provisional ballot if they move shortly before an election.

The rules would also prevent anyone, including those with video or audio equipment, from getting within 100 feet of a line of voters, even if that line is outside a polling place. This would also prevent anyone from offering legal advice to voters in line.

State Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla, a Republican from Miami and sponsor of the legislation, said the changes were a response to complaints and problems in the 2008 elections. ...

Elizabeth Westfall, a senior lawyer with the Advancement Project, a voting rights group, predicted that the measure would shut down voter-registration drives in Florida by outside groups like the N.A.A.C.P. The legislation would require voter-registration groups to turn in applications within 48 hours after they are first filled out. --

Washington State: Legislature passes National Popular Vote bill

National Popular Vote.org reports: The Washington House of Representatives passed the National Popular Vote bill, thereby sending the bill to Governor Chris Gregoire. The Washington House is the 26th state legislative chamber in the country to pass the National Popular Vote bill. If the Governor signs the bill, Washington (with 11 electoral votes) would become the fifth state to enact the National Popular Vote bill, and give the bill 23% of the 270 electoral votes needed to bring it into effect. -- National Popular Vote -- Electoral college reform by direct election of the President

Texas: GOP governors differ on the NAMUDNO case

AP reports: Republican governors offer differing views on major voting rights case at Supreme Court -- Differing views in GOP on voting rights case | TPM News Pages

Note: Because the AP is threatening legal action against those who quote from their stories, I will be mentioning fewer AP stories and will give no more than the headline.

Scotland: SNP considering fundraising at funerals

The Sunday Herald reports: THE SNP has been accused of "grave robbing" after the party put forward a "macabre" plan for fundraising at funerals. Nationalist bosses are asking grieving relatives if they can place envelopes on seats at memorial services for the purpose of raising cash for the party. Opposition parties have condemned the proposal. ...

This builds on the party's existing fundraising policy of encouraging members to leave cash to the SNP in their wills by calling on activists to leave "In memory" gifts.

One of the fundraising methods allows friends and family to celebrate "the life of a loved one" by donating money to the SNP.

However, the strategy goes further by identifying mourners at funerals as potential contributors to the Nationalist cause. The blurb states: "If you are arranging a funeral or memorial service for a loved one, you may wish to ask friends and relatives to donate to charity instead of buying flowers.

"If you wish to collect for the SNP in this way we can provide you with envelopes that can be handed out or left on seats at the service. Most funeral directors will be happy to assist with this and we can send information directly to them." -- Snp Under Fire Over Macabre Plan For Fundraising Funerals (from Sunday Herald)

Yglesias on STV replacing SMD

Matt Yglesias writes on his eponymous blog: Ed Kilgore’s interesting post on polarization in congress seems like a good opportunity to point out that there are some practical, structural steps we could take that would probably reduce polarization. One such move would be to shift from single-member constituencies, where a Congressional District has about 600,000 people and one member of congress, to multiple-member constituencies where larger units are represented by multiple reps elected via single transferable vote. -- One Solution to Polarization: Multiple-Member Constituencies

"Visualizing Contributions to the 110th Congress"

Usually, I quote a little portion of the article, but these are primarily visual, so I will just give you the links.

Visualizing Contributions to the 110th Congress — The House Edition

Visualizing Contributions to the 110th Congress—House Edition (Take 2)

Visualizing the Campaign Contributions to Senators in the 110th Congress — The TARP EDITION