Plagued by a history of problems delivering mail, especially in wartime, the Pentagon will soon be unveiling a program to do a better job of getting ballots overseas and back so units deployed in combat zones and elsewhere can cast votes in the fall presidential election.

The pledge for improvement comes amid critical reports on laggardly military mail service and complaints of shortages of forms to request absentee ballots for overseas civilians.

Pentagon studies of recent elections have found about a quarter of overseas military service members who try to get an absentee ballot do not get it in time or do not get it back to their local election office in time for it to be counted. More recently, a General Accounting Office study released this month said historic military mail problems have resurfaced in Iraq.

The Pentagon and the Postal Service are putting finishing touches on a joint agreement for speedy handling of ballots going back and forth to units overseas. The ballots will travel in specially colored containers so everyone knows they need priority handling, said Charles S. Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. His portfolio includes the Federal Voting Assistance Program responsible for more than 6 million military and civilian voters overseas. -- Pentagon to Try to Fix War Zone Voting Woes (washingtonpost.com)

Posted by Ed at 10:54 AM | Permalink

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a South Carolina county's at-large method of electing county council members illegally dilutes minority voting strength.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed U.S. District Judge Michael Duffy's ruling that Charleston County's system discriminates against blacks. The court said only a "clearly erroneous" ruling could be overturned.

"While the district court's finding ... is certainly disputable, it is not clearly mistaken," Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote.

The U.S. Justice Department and a group of Charleston County voters challenged the at-large system, in which all county voters choose all nine council members. At the time of the trial, only three blacks were among the 41 council members elected since 1970. The county's population is 31 percent black, according to the 2000 census. -- Court strikes down S.C. county's at-large elections (AP via Charleston State)

The opinion is here on the 4th Circuit website.

Posted by Ed at 8:11 PM | Permalink

BULLETIN: US District Judge Glen Davidson has refused to issue an injunction stopping Monday's election [in Granada, Miss.]. A hearing date on the case will be set at a later time.

A lawsuit was filed late yesterday in Federal Court in Oxford [Mississippi] to delay the May 3 city election until new ward lines can be drawn based on the official 2000 census.

Oxford Attorney David O'Donnell filed the case on behalf of seven Grenadians who represent a larger group which was organized to try to get voting rights for citizens annexed by the city. ...

The suit charges that the city is planning a city council election based on 1990 census ward lines rather than ward lines drawn according to the official U.S. Government 2000 Census. ...

Informed sources say ward line deviations are off 36.6% under the current (2004) election plan. -- Citizens seek election delay (Granada Daily Sentinel Star)

Does anyone know why the plaintiffs waited to so near the election before filing suit?

Posted by Ed at 8:00 PM | Permalink

While the full-time law professors provide a wonderful resource for all of us in the election law field, many law schools utilize adjuncts to teach the election law course. Practitioners bring a fresh "in the trenches" perspective that many students need to hear. I would like to compile a list of those teaching election law as adjuncts.

First on the list if Jeff Wice who will be teaching at Touro Law School.

If you are one or know of others, please leave their names in the comments.

Posted by Ed at 9:22 AM | Permalink

The state Republican chairman says his party will appeal a ruling that reinstated a Christian radio talk show host on the June 1 primary ballot.

The GOP had disqualified Kelly McGinley from running for the state school board seat representing Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties on April 7, five days after she filed papers to be a candidate.

"We're going to appeal it because ultimately, the issue is not the Republican Party," state GOP chairman Marty Connors said Wednesday. "The issue is: Does any private or nonprofit organization have the ability or responsibility to govern its own affairs? Or is that the responsibility of the state or government?" ...

Connors said any votes McGinley receives would not be counted while the case is pending in court.

"People who'd vote for this candidate are going to have to understand that it's possible their votes might be meaningless because her candidacy is being challenged," he said. -- GOP: Party will appeal ruling that reinstates McGinley (AP via AL.com)

Posted by Ed at 6:56 AM | Permalink

Democratic secretary of state candidate Mike Oliverio has filed court petitions against ballot commissioners in eight counties challenging the placement of the seven secretary of state candidates' names on those counties' May 11 Democratic primary ballots.

A petition challenging ballots in Boone, Jackson, Lincoln, McDowell, Nicholas, Summers and Webster counties was filed Wednesday in the state Supreme Court. The court ordered the prosecutors in those counties to file responses by noon Thursday. ...

On the ballots, which are all to be read by optical scanners, the Democratic secretary of state candidates' names appear at the bottom of one column and spill over into another. Five names appear in one column and two in the next. Because the order of candidates is randomly chosen in each county, Oliverio's name appears in the second column on about half the ballots.

Oliverio said state law requires that if the candidates in a particular race have to be split between two columns, the columns have to be "nearly equal.'' Instead of a five-two split, there should be a four-three or three-four split.

Also, at the end of the first column on each county's ballot is the notation "continued on the following column.'' But at the top of the second column, the two names appear alone, without any indication they are candidates for secretary of state.

Oliverio said the notation at the end of the first column should be "secretary of state candidates continued'' and there should be a notation at the top of the second column indicating the next two names are secretary of state candidates. -- Oliverio challenges ballots in Supreme Court, Raleigh County (AP via Charleston Gazette)

Posted by Ed at 9:55 PM | Permalink

Richard Gladden writes:

Contrary to the view of some, I believe the Supreme Court's decision today in Vieth, particularly in light of Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion, actually increases the odds the Court will grant review and strike down intra-deceniial congressional redistricting in my client's case, Session v. Perry, juris. stat. pending, sub. nom. Henderson v. Perry, No. 03-9644. Although the question I presented does not rely directly on the First Amendment, it does rest fully on the idea that Elections Clause power is commensurate with, and must be supported by, or related to, a "legitimate regulatory purpose". Nowhere in the plurality, concurring or dissenting opinions, is partisan Gerrymandering considered as such. I have attached my client's jurisdictional statement (that is, the cover, index and body, as originally filed, without the docket number refered to herein). If you think it might be of interest to your readers, please feel free to post it if you like.

Thanks, Richard.

Posted by Ed at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The [Mississippi] Senate on Wednesday amended a House-passed voter identification bill to delete language that would have exempted the elderly from showing proof of their identity at the polls.

The House version provided people born before Jan. 1, 1940, would not have to show identification. The exception was put in to address concerns that requiring ID could be used to intimidate older black voters who once had to pay poll taxes.

Thirteen of the Senate's 52 members voted against the bill. The bill now goes back to the House, which can adopt it, send it to conference or let it die.

Voter ID has been a hot-button issue at the Capitol for years. Supporters say the measure would strengthen the integrity of elections in the state. Opponents say poll workers could misinform or intimidate voters. -- Senate Passes Amended Version Of House Voter ID Bill (AP via WLOX.com)

Posted by Ed at 9:43 PM | Permalink

Former Vice President Al Gore will drain his $6.6 million legal slush fund from his 2000 presidential campaign and transfer $4 million to the Democratic National Committee and $1 million each to both the House and Senate campaign committees.

In addition, Gore pledged $240,000 to the Florida Democratic Party, the state where he narrowly lost the presidential race, and $250,000 to the party of his home state of Tennessee.

By donating the money -- most of it squirreled away in a general election legal and accounting compliance (GELAC) fund -- Gore ended months of speculation among Democratic strategists on how he would involve himself in the Democrats' effort to take back the White House and control the Congress. -- Democrats get millions from Gore fund (The Hill.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:38 PM | Permalink

Congressional challenger Henry Cuellar said Wednesday that U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez was legally too late in making claims about unqualified Webb County voters casting ballots in last month's Democratic primary.

In court papers filed Wednesday in Laredo, Mr. Cuellar asked retired Judge Joseph Hart, who is hearing the case, to not accept the allegations in Mr. Rodriguez's amended lawsuit, filed Tuesday, which charges that Mr. Cuellar's slender lead in the 28th Congressional District is a result of illegal voting in his home county.

Mr. Cuellar's legal filing asserts that, by pointing at the Webb County voters, Mr. Rodriguez is trying to improperly broaden the scope of his original lawsuit, which alleged unspecified irregularities in voting, vote counting and in a recount in late March. -- Cuellar: Election complaint too late (DentonRC.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:35 PM | Permalink

A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Republican-drawn redistricting plan for Pennsylvania and appeared to leave scant room for similar Democratic challenges in Texas and elsewhere. ...

Several appeals to the Texas redistricting plan are pending at the court, but Richard Hasen, an election law expert at Loyola Law School, said the Pennsylvania ruling is bad news for Democrats in those cases.

"It was already extremely difficult. Now it is even more difficult, because you have four justices saying the door is completely closed," he said, referring to Scalia, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Clarence Thomas. -- High court ruling in Pennsylvania case seems to offer bad news for Democratic challenges in other states (AP via Miami Herald)

"The fact that they came so close to eliminating cases over political gerrymandering but didn't do it is very significant," said Nathaniel Persily, a law professor and redistricting expert at the University of Pennsylvania. "What we're left with is Justice Kennedy's opinion, which proposes a whole new way of thinking about this."

Kennedy, in an opinion upholding Pennsylvania's map but leaving the door open to other lawsuits, suggested gerrymandering could be prohibited if the districts violate First Amendment tenets on freedom of association.

"These allegations involve the First Amendment interest of not burdening or penalizing citizens because of their participation in the electoral process, their voting history, their association with a political party, or their expression of political views," Kennedy wrote. "Under general First Amendment principles, those burdens in other contexts are unconstitutional absent a compelling government interest."

Persily said that could be a ray of hope to minority-party voters in many states: "If you're a party that feels you've been shafted, what do you do tomorrow? You say it's ideological discrimination. If you make it a First Amendment argument, now you can get back in the door." -- Supreme Court upholds Pennsylvania's GOP-leaning redistricting (Knight Ridder Newspapers via MercuryNews.com)

The UPI story is here.

Posted by Ed at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Justice Department's Public Integrity Section is reviewing allegations that Attorney General John D. Ashcroft may have violated federal campaign finance and disclosure laws based on information developed by the Federal Election Commission.

The section is responsible for determining whether allegations merit investigation as potential criminal violations of campaign finance and disclosure laws and for making recommendations as to whether a special counsel would be needed when a potential conflict of interest with senior Justice officials exists.

At issue is the valuable campaign fundraising list of then-Sen. Ashcroft (R-Mo.). He had claimed ownership of the fundraising list during an FEC inquiry, but had not reported it as an asset on his Senate or Justice Department financial disclosure statements.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine disclosed the review in an April 14 letter to the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI), an election law interest group, which disclosed it to The Washington Post.

The institute triggered the original FEC investigation almost three years ago, which resulted in a determination in December that Ashcroft's 1998 leadership political action committee, Spirit of America, and his Senate reelection campaign committee, Ashcroft 2000, had committed at least four violations of federal campaign laws. The two committees agreed to pay a $37,000 fine to settle the issue. -- Justice Department Reviewing Ashcroft (washingtonpost.com)

Here is the letter from Mr. Fine.

Posted by Ed at 1:00 PM | Permalink

The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision in Vieth v. Jubelirer. The plaintiffs had claimed that the congressional redistricting plan adopted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly was a political gerrymander.

Here are excerpts from the syllabus:

Justice SCALIA, joined by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICE O’CONNOR, and JUSTICE THOMAS, concluded that political gerrymandering claims are nonjusticiable because no judicially discernible and manageable standards for adjudicating such claims exist.

JUSTICE KENNEDY, while agreeing that appellants’ complaint must be dismissed, concluded that all possibility of judicial relief should not be foreclosed in cases such as this because a limited and precise rationale may yet be found to correct an established constitutional violation.

More when I read the decision.

UPDATE: If you want a quick analysis of Vieth, take a look at Rick Hasen's "initial thoughts." As Rick says, Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion is generally to be considered the controlling authority. So, let's start with that opinion. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Would anyone who has read that tell me what the heck he decided, other than the appellants lose? Do you see a standard in that opinion? Is there anything to guide the lower courts in dealing with these political gerrymandering claims in the future?

2. Justice Kennedy says (p.3 of his opinion), "The ... parties have not shown us, and I have not been able to discovery, helpful discussions onthe principles of fair districting discussed in the annals of parliamentary or legislative bodies." Justice Kennedy probably does not count citizen initiatives as "parliamentary or legislative bodies," but he ought to take a look at Arizona's constitutional standards which require certain objective criteria be used (but note that the choice among those criteria can be quite subjective) and "to the extent practicable, competitive districts should be favored where to do so would create no significant detriment to the other goals."

3. As usual in discussions of the fairness of redistricting, Justice Kennedy ignores the elephant in the room. It is very hard to make a plan with winner-take-all voting into a "fair" plan -- just take a look at the problems Arizona has had. The Arizona Commission used a measure called AQD (a predictive measurement based on voting for certain statewide offices) and found the statewide spread to be 5.6% in favor of the Republicans. The plan just approved by the Independent Redistricting Commission and the Superior Court has 14 districts with a solid GOP majority, 9 with Democratic majorities, and 7 competitive districts. For the Democrats to win a proportionate share of the districts, they have to win the 9 with Democratic majorites and 5 of the 7 competitive districts. How likely do you think that will be? The answer, of course, is some form of proportional or choice voting. See the Center for Voting and Democracy website for a general, and many specific, explanations.

Posted by Ed at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A judge ordered the Alabama Republican Party to reinstate a Christian radio talk show host on the June 1 primary ballot Tuesday, saying the party's rules regarding candidate loyalty were too vague.

The GOP had disqualified Kelly McGinley from running for the state school board seat representing Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties on April 7, five days after she filed papers to be a candidate. ...

McGinley rejected the idea that she is a "bad Republican," placing that label instead on party moderates — such as those Republicans who advocate abortion rights.

"Those people are the bad Republicans," she said. "I go by the platform, and I don't like Republicans that leave the platform.

"The moderates in the party are increasingly brazen in their efforts to derail candidates who are not selected by the party elite. This is happening nationwide." -- Judge orders radio talk show host back on GOP primary ballot (AP via AL.com)

Posted by Ed at 9:59 PM | Permalink

Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga pleaded innocent Tuesday to federal charges that he intervened in criminal cases in exchange for contributions to his failed 2002 congressional campaign. ...

The nine-count indictment says Marlinga and others used his office to commit conspiracy, fraud, campaign violations and mail and wire fraud.

The federal investigation into Marlinga was triggered by complaints from Republicans who claimed Marlinga intervened in an appeal filed by convicted rapist Jeffrey Moldowan in exchange for contributions. The indictment lists $34,000 in contributions to his campaign. -- Macomb County prosecutor pleads innocent to federal fraud charges (AP via Detroit Free Press)

The Michigan Democratic Party denied Monday that it improperly funneled money from a contributor into the congressional campaign of Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga. ...

The contribution, the indictment says, came from a lawyer who already had contributed the maximum allowable to Marlinga’s campaign and defended two rape victims at the heart of the charges.

The lawyer, whom Marlinga identified as Dennis Johnston, was trying to avoid the individual contribution limit of $2,000, the indictment says. -- Dems deny funneling money to Marlinga (Detroit News)

Posted by Ed at 8:47 PM | Permalink

A national conservative group is asking federal prosecutors to drop an investigation into the financial activities of a political committee founded by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land.

The American Conservative Union told U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of San Antonio that the 2002 campaign finance activities of DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority should not be subject to a criminal investigation.

"Your office should take no action ... for the simple reason that the contributions were made legally and in accordance with the applicable state and federal law in effect during the 2002 election cycle," wrote David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union.

The advocacy organization Judicial Watch has filed a complaint against Texans for a Republican Majority, claiming it conducted illegal money laundering in 2002 to funnel corporate money to GOP candidates for the Texas House. -- Feds asked to suspend PAC probe (HoustonChronicle.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:40 PM | Permalink

Vicious snarls, fist-clenching lyrics, audience of screaming fans - it all looks like typical punk rock in Fat Mike's latest concert tour.

But hang out between sets and the scene grows strange. Suspended screens start displaying political movies, one about Iraq and another about the 2000 presidential election. Linger afterward to hear a lead singer deliver an anti-Bush screed. Trace the tour dates through one swing state after another.

"Right now it's my personal crusade," Fat Mike said. "I think it's good for the country." ...

Fat Mike said he never voted before 2000, and is still not keen on Kerry. He said he only ventured into politics because he can reach young voters, not because he's a Democrat.

"I'm not anti-Republican. I'm anti-Bush," said Fat Mike. And as soon as the election is over, he said, he's giving up politics: "I'd rather be gambling." -- Of 527s, And Political Punk Rock (CTnow.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A national Republican spokesman who last week criticized a South Dakota Democrat for taking a salary from campaign contributions said Monday that Arkansas Republican state Rep. Marvin Parks gets a pass for doing the same thing.

"This case is different," National Republican Congressional Committee Communications Director Carl Forti said of Parks, who is drawing about $4,000 a month from contributions.

The Washington D.C., newspaper Roll Call reported that Stephanie Herseth, a Democrat from South Dakota, is paying herself $2,500 a month as she campaigns in the June 1 South Dakota House special election.

Herseth and Parks, R-Greenbrier, are taking advantage of a new federal campaign finance law designed for those who can't afford to quit their jobs to run a full-time congressional campaign. -- National Republican changes tune on Parks' use of campaign funds (Arkansas News Bureau)

Posted by Ed at 8:29 PM | Permalink

One of the newest ads of the campaign season isn't airing on TV or over the radio. You've likely heard it on the other end of your telephone.

Senator Tom Daschle's re-election campaign paid for an undisclosed number of telephone ads blaming John Thune's campaign for an increase in negative advertising.

But that's only part of the story. It turns out Daschle's ads violate a new federal election law.

Campaign finance laws require political commercials to tell you who's paying for them. You see those disclaimers at the end of any campaign ad. And new guidelines mean you should also hear them over the phone.

The phone call begins, "Hello this is Pam Dorneman. I wanted to give you a quick call because this week I have seen a number of negative television ads..."

Political persuasion over the phone is nothing new to KELOLAND campaigns. But it's how this ad ends that breaks a new federal election law. There's no disclaimer saying who paid for it. -- Ad Watch: Daschle Phone Calls (KELOLAND.COM)

Posted by Ed at 8:24 PM | Permalink

Hey, George Soros! You're sending sackloads of cash to all sorts of groups dedicated to defeating President Bush this November. But by so ruthlessly exploiting one loophole in campaign-finance law -- the one that allows unlimited donations to the political nonprofits known as 527 committees -- you're ignoring a different, equally large loophole. And it's one that affects a medium no one seems to be taking advantage of yet: the Internet.

The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002, popularly known as McCain-Feingold, had two big goals: stopping the flow of unlimited soft-money donations from corporations, individuals, and unions to political parties; and preventing corporations and unions (and groups funded by corporations and unions) from broadcasting so-called "issue ads" on television and radio within 30 days of a primary and 60 days of the general election. The Internet makes it possible to subvert both goals, however, and that's where you come in, Mr. Soros. -- Tell George Soros! Three reasons to spend campaign cash online. By Chris Suellentrop (Slate)

Posted by Ed at 8:20 PM | Permalink

Alabama civil rights lawyer and activist Fred D. Gray will deliver the keynote address Saturday at the commencement ceremony for Pepperdine's Seaver College, the school announced yesterday.

Gray, a senior partner with Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray & Nathanson, based in Tuskegee and Montgomery, is the immediate past president of the Alabama Bar Association and was honored for his civil rights work in 1996 by the American Bar Association. He represented Rosa Parks in 1955 in litigation challenging segregated seating on public buses in Montgomery.

He was the first black president of the Alabama Bar Association. In honoring him in the inaugural year of its Spirit of Excellence Awards, the American Bar Association noted he brought cases to open the door for redistricting and reapportionment legislation, to protect the right of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to do business in Alabama, to reinstate students expelled from Alabama State College, to require the State of Alabama to protect marchers walking from Selma to Montgomery in pursuit of the right to vote, and to remedy systemic exclusion of blacks from civil juries in Alabama. -- Civil Rights Attorney to Speak At Pepperdine Graduation (Metropolitan News-Enterprise)

Posted by Ed at 8:15 PM | Permalink

A couple of stories on how to party with the pols.

Under new campaign-finance rules, big donors can no longer spend lavish sums to entertain politicians at the parties' national conventions. But that won't stop the partying this year.

House majority leader Tom DeLay has set up a tax-exempt charity called Celebrations for Children, which will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from top donors at the Republican Convention in New York City by offering them yacht cruises, tickets to Broadway shows and the chance to mingle with Republican lawmakers at parties. -- Support a worthy cause and meet a senator (Time via CNN.com)

Public watchdog groups have criticized Republicans for using a charitable group to help host lavish parties at this summer's presidential nominating convention, but Democrats are now employing the same strategy.

Democrats are inviting corporations to contribute up to $100,000 to attend the "Rockin' on the Dock of the Bay" party in Boston on July 28, the night before Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) is to be nominated to challenge President Bush. The event's official beneficiary is the National Childhood Cancer Foundation's "CureSearch" program, but the trappings are overtly political. -- Charity-Hosted Revelry Not Just for Republicans (washingtonpost.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:10 PM | Permalink

As the November 2004 election approaches, fundraising by issue-oriented political organizations (known as "527 organizations") will certainly impact the outcome. Groups such as the left-leaning Americans Coming Together, or the right-leaning Progress for America, will doubtless seek to use their funds to place print and television advertising that will give a boost to certain causes -- and, inevitably, certain candidates. They may also spearhead get-out-the-vote efforts to support their respective causes -- and, inevitably, certain candidates.

Currently, campaign finance laws permit such groups to do all of these things -- without regulation as to how much money can be spent. Contributions to particular candidates and parties are capped. But contributions to issue-oriented groups are not.

The result is that wealthy individuals, after they hit the cap on contributions to particular candidates and parties, can just keep on spending. After they max out their contributions to particular candidates, they can give their money, instead, to issue-oriented groups whose efforts are likely to end up helping those very same candidates and parties.

Is this a loophole in the campaign finance laws that should be closed? In the last few weeks, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has increasingly focused on this very issue. Indeed, it is considering setting a $5,000 cap on individual contributions to each 527 organization.

I will argue, however, that imposing such a cap would be a mistake -- and a First Amendment violation even if the FEC believes that it has the authority to impose the cap. -- Charles: Why the Federal Election Commission Should Not Limit Contributions to Political Issue Organizations (FindLaw's Writ)

Posted by Ed at 4:05 PM | Permalink

Jeff Wice asks:

Has anybody ever come across a case where the Voting Rights Act was used (by a governmental body) as a defense against an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit? Specifically, has the relocation of non-ADA accessible voting places in minority communties to ADA accessible polling places (in adjacent but non-minority) neighborhoods violated the Voting Rights Act? Or has the Voting Rights Act not served as a valid defense? This would not be in a Section 5 jurisdiction.

If you have ever heard of such a situation or case, please let me know directly at JMWice@aol.com

Posted by Ed at 3:04 PM | Permalink

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a lower court to reconsider the constitutionality of a North Carolina law prohibiting political action committees from accepting individual contributions of more than $4,000.

A federal judge and appeals court agreed the law should be struck down, but the justices said those decisions should be reconsidered in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld a federal campaign finance law, known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act or BCRA.

"Just as Congress adopted BCRA to address the use of conduits (soft money committees and sham advocacy committees) to circumvent contribution limits, so North Carolina has enacted laws to address similar real world problems involving independent spenders in elections," Susan Nichols, a special state deputy attorney general, had told the justices in a filing.

The North Carolina Right to Life Committee challenged the law and won decisions that allowed individuals to make unlimited donations to PACs that run independent campaigns on behalf of like-minded state candidates, thus avoiding contribution limits directly to the candidate's campaign.

Justices told the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., to review the case again, taking into account the Supreme Court's December ruling in the federal campaign law case. -- High Court Orders Review of N.C. Campaign Finance Case (AP via washingtonpost.com)

Posted by Ed at 9:04 PM | Permalink

Thousands of people who have been denied the right to exercise their franchise have no remedy against the injustice committed on them by the election officers.

Though the right to vote is a statutory right, the Supreme Court has held that its breach "should not come in the way of the process of fulfiling the high objective of bringing into existence a House or an institution contemplated by the Constitution for enabling democratic functioning of the country".

So who is a voter?

The first and foremost requirement for being a voter is that his or her name must figure in the electoral rolls.

If the name is missing, the right to vote by such a person ceases to exist, even if he or she is carrying the photo identity card issued by the Election Commission.

Though the apex court had, in several judgments, deprecated lapses in properly revising the electoral rolls, it has not bestowed the right on a victim voter to seek judicial remedy against such a grave offence. -- No remedy for missing names (The Times of India)

Posted by Ed at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

China's parliament Monday dashed Hong Kong people's hopes of directly electing their leaders in polls in 2007 and 2008, reinforcing Beijing's full control over democratic progress in the territory.

The decision came after top members of the National People's Congress (NPC) had voted on political reforms for the former British colony, where calls have mounted for more voting rights out of growing frustration with the China-backed administration.

"There will be no universal suffrage for electing the third Chief Executive in 2007," Tsang Hin-chi, a Hong Kong member of the NPC's Standing Committee, told reporters in Beijing.

"There will be no universal suffrage for all legislators," he said, referring to elections due in 2008. His comments were carried live on Hong Kong's Cable Television. ...

Half of Hong Kong's Legislative Council is returned via direct election, while the other half is selected by largely pro-Beijing professional and business groups. -- China Rules Out Direct Elections in HK in 2007-08 (Reuters.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:48 PM | Permalink

The former chairman of the [Virginia] state Republican party asked a federal court Monday to dismiss a civil suit filed against him and other former GOP officials over eavesdropping on Democratic strategy calls two years ago.

Gary R. Thomson, who pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor related to the controversy and resigned his post, said in his response that he did not reveal the contents of one of the calls to Anne P. Petera, the top staffer for Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. ...

Attorney Joel D. Bieber, who is representing Thomson in the civil case, said Monday that further litigation in the matter was "mean-spirited."

"We've accepted responsibility for what was done," Bieber said. "(The plaintiffs) are saying it's time to bring a Washington, D.C., law firm into Virginia to do the job the FBI did not do." ...

Democrats have said that money was not the object when they filed suit. The main hope, they say, is that more information will come out over who was involved in the scandal beyond Matricardi and Thomson. -- Former state GOP head requests eavesdropping suit be dismissed (AP via Hampton Rhodes Daily Press)

Posted by Ed at 8:35 PM | Permalink

The Texas Republican Party went on a drive during the last major statewide elections to raise corporate cash like never before, collecting $2.2 million from companies such as energy firms and nursing home chains.

While raising the money was legal, it may have been spent in violation of state law, the Houston Chronicle found through a review of more than 10,000 pages of state and federal campaign finance reports.

Texas law prohibits political parties from spending corporate or labor union money on anything other than running a party primary, paying for a convention or administrative expenses. State law also requires those funds to be spent through a separate, restricted account, which can also include money from other sources.

But the state Republican Party transferred its corporate donations to a federal committee it runs and designated all general election expenses as administrative. -- HoustonChronicle.com - Possible violations of law in GOP money trail (Houston Chronicle)

Posted by Ed at 6:49 PM | Permalink

The Los Angeles Times article, Renewed Focus on Scalia Trip, concerns another of Justice Antonin Scalia's duck hunting trips.

Justice Scalia has been hunting in Mississippi with Judge Charles Pickering and his son Cong. Chip Pickering for years. Yet he refused to recuse himself in the Mississippi redistricting case in which Cong. Pickering's district was in dispute -- Branch v. Smith.

In 1993, Scalia wrote a strong opinion for the Supreme Court in a Minnesota case, saying that state lawmakers and state judges, not federal authorities, had the primary duty to redraw their electoral districts. In the Mississippi case, however, Scalia upheld a move by federal judges to block a state court's plan that was more favorable to Pickering's Democratic opponent.

His legal flip came with an explanation suited to Mississippi — but one carrying a touch of irony. Because of the state's history of racism, its state officials cannot make changes in their electoral districts without advance approval from the Justice Department under the terms of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And when the Bush administration refused to approve a Mississippi state judge's plan that was favored by black Democrats, the high court cleared the way for federal judges to adopt a plan that was favorable to the Republicans.

Scalia's role in a partisan struggle that determined the political fate of a hunting partner created an impression of partiality and Republican coziness, according to various observers.

The Times provides a counterweight to its charge by pointing out that the decision in the case was joined by other members of the Court.

But the Democrats' complaints also may be exaggerated, since it is not clear whether Scalia made a difference in the final outcome. His decision in the redistricting case was backed by the full court in a ruling issued months later. The justices all agreed that the state's failure to win the Justice Department's approval for its new Congressional districts cleared the way for federal judges to step in.

However, in the mid-80's, the Supreme Court heard a case from Alabama which involved the bias of one of the Alabama Supreme Court Justices. Justice Brennan concurred and noted that the decision did not hinge on the decision below being 5-4.

That fact too is irrelevant -- Justice Embry's participation in the court's resolution of the case, while he was fully aware of his interest in its outcome, was sufficient in itself to impugn the decision. The description of an opinion as being "for the court" connotes more than merely that the opinion has been joined by a majority of the participating judges. It reflects the fact that these judges have exchanged ideas and arguments in deciding the case. It reflects the collective process of deliberation which shapes the court's perceptions of which issues must be addressed and, more importantly, how they must be addressed. And, while the influence of any single participant in this process can never be measured with precision, experience teaches us that each member's involvement plays a part in shaping the court's ultimate disposition.

Aetna Life Insurance Co. v. Lavoie, 475 U.S. 813 (1986).

Posted by Ed at 6:36 PM | Permalink

Election officials and law enforcement authorities [in South Dakota] are keeping close watch on voter registration projects in north Rapid City after reports that two convicted felons were being paid to specifically sign up Democrats.

Pennington County Auditor Julie Pearson said Friday that she and her staff had not found any fraudulent registration forms. But she said she is being especially vigilant because of a well-publicized case of voter registration fraud in the county two years ago.

Pearson also grew concerned after officers from the Pennington County Sheriff's Office notified her that two people with criminal records had been working the North Rapid area to register voters. ...

It isn't illegal for convicted felons to register voters, Pearson said. Nor is it illegal for voter registration workers to be paid on a per-head basis for their registration work. In fact, state elections supervisor Kea Warne of Pierre said state law doesn't prohibit registration workers from paying people to register. -- Voter registration charges, denials fly (Rapid City Journal)

Despite this behavior's being legal, the Democrats say that they are not doing it.

Posted by Ed at 8:56 PM | Permalink

When Elsie Meeks was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1998, she said the campaign office got a series of telephone complaints that the party had chosen an American Indian for that position.

"They would call and say, 'We don't understand why Bernie has her on the ticket when we can't go onto her reservation and vote,'" Meeks testified in a voting rights trial on Thursday. ...

The judge must decide whether the American Indian population is too high in District 27 or if the state's lawyers are correct when they say that that high of an Indian population is needed to elect state lawmakers who are Indian.

Lawyers from the South Dakota attorney general's office cite low voter turnout on reservations for state elections and a young population that, in all racial groups, tends to vote in small numbers. ...

Both the state and the ACLU have expert witnesses who have examined voting patterns on a precinct-by-precinct basis. The experts have reached different conclusions about voting patterns of the two races.

ACLU lawyers argued in a brief that their expert and the state's expert both found "overwhelming" cohesion among Indian voters. They argued that various forms of statistical analysis of 2002 elections in District 26 found that 86 percent of Indian voters voted the same way.

The ACLU argued that the state's expert incorrectly considered ballot issue elections in his analysis. Those elections do not have candidates and should not be studied to find voting patterns, the ACLU argued. -- ACLU finishes case in voting rights trial (Rapid City Journal)

Posted by Ed at 8:43 PM | Permalink

In the third day of a voting-rights trial on Wednesday, five American Indians told a federal judge that they have experienced racism in South Dakota.

The testimony is designed to establish a history of racial discrimination as the American Civil Liberties Union seeks a court decision to carve out a new state legislative district favorable to American Indians in the south-central part of the state. ...

As a grown woman, Black Lance said she still fears leaving the reservation because she believes law enforcement officers will stop her.

"I'm afraid when I leave the reservation. It seems like we left a safe area and go to an area where it's prejudiced," she said.

Black Lance said she has been stopped "just about every time I left the reservation."

The traffic stops ended when she bought a car that did not bear a license plate number from a reservation county, she said. ...

On cross-examination by state lawyers, the witnesses said they had not had trouble registering to vote or voting. Drapeaux said she is a leader in her community, and a copy of a newspaper advertisement in which the Rural Electric Association recognizes her as such was entered into evidence.

When asked if she believed white people in Martin accepted her, Drapeaux replied, "I'd say so." -- Witnesses testify on racism at ACLU trial (Rapid City Journal)

Posted by Ed at 8:35 PM | Permalink

South Dakota's election procedures are fair, open and not a barrier to participation by American Indians, state election officials testified in the sixth day of a voting rights lawsuit.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson and Bennett County Auditor Susan Williams both testified that their overriding philosophy is that it should be easy for people to vote. ...

Voter registration in the three American Indian reservation counties at issue in the lawsuit exceeds national and state voter registration averages, Nelson said. But the same isn't true for turnout.

"They've done a very good job getting registered to vote. But turnout rates fall to the bottom of the list. Going to the polls is another story," Nelson said.

Nelson said a former state tribal affairs officer told him Indians tend not to vote in state and federal elections because they care more about tribal government and less about state and federal government.

ACLU lawyers have argued that low Indian turnout can be attributed to a lack of faith in the system that is the result of a history of being unable to overcome the power of a white majority. -- Election officials: Everyone was treated equally (Rapid City Journal)

Posted by Ed at 8:31 PM | Permalink

In a matter of months, Gov. Mark R. Warner will have restored civil rights to more ex-convicts than any other governor in Virginia's modern history.

Warner, a Democrat, has restored voting and other rights to more former state convicts during the past two years than the past two Republican governors -- Jim Gilmore and George Allen -- did during their combined eight years in office.
Not since Gov. Charles S. Robb, a Democrat who served from 1982 to 1986, has any governor restored civil rights at such a pace.

"As long as I'm governor, this is going to be our approach," Warner said this week. In Virginia, anyone convicted of a felony loses certain rights, including the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury or act as a notary public. The state is one of only seven where felons have their voting rights taken away for life.

However, the governor has the discretionary power to restore all citizenship rights, except for the right to possess a firearm. Felons do not become eligible for rights restoration until years after they have completed any sentence. -- Warner restoring rights to felons at quick pace (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online)

Posted by Ed at 8:21 PM | Permalink

A coalition of minorities asked a federal court on Friday to approve new, more competitive legislative districts for the 2004 elections rather than waiting for the U.S. Justice Department to rule on the recently redrawn maps.

The group's leaders said they need quick action so candidates know where to stump for votes and so election officials can meet deadlines to organize the election.

The Independent Redistricting Commission was forced to redraw the districts after a Maricopa County Superior Court judge threw out the old maps because there were too few competitive "swing" districts. The commission sent its new maps, which increased the number of districts deemed winnable by both Republicans and Democrats to seven from four, to the Justice Department last week.

Members of the Arizona Minority Coalition, whose lawsuit sparked the changes, said they are asking the U.S. District Court to rule on the new maps as a fail-safe against slow action by the Justice Department. -- Fast OK is asked on redistricting (Arizona Republic)

If anyone is interested in seeing the complaint and moving papers, please let me know. I can post them.

Posted by Ed at 8:13 PM | Permalink

Fearing that a terrorist attack on the Capitol could decimate the legislative branch, the House overwhelmingly approved a measure on Thursday that would provide for quick special elections if 100 or more of its members were killed.

The bill, which would allow for elections 45 days after a catastrophe, went to the Senate after it passed by a vote of 306 to 97. But its Republican sponsors refused to take up the politically thorny question of whether the Constitution should be amended to allow for temporary appointments to the House until special elections could be arranged. ...

The measure would allow for special elections in "extraordinary circumstances," which the bill defines as occurring when the speaker of the House announces that there are more than 100 vacancies. Within 10 days of the announcement, the political parties in states with vacancies would be permitted to nominate candidates to run in a special election within 45 days. -- House Sets Up Quick Elections if Its Members Die in Attack (New York Times)

Posted by Ed at 8:24 PM | Permalink

Opening a new front in the campaign advertising war, the Democratic National Committee is developing plans to establish an unprecedented independent unit to run ads supporting Sen. John F. Kerry, party sources say.

Although senior officials say the party has not yet approved the plan, the DNC has hired a political operative to direct what could become a major effort to support Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, with advertising in key states. ...

But when the Supreme Court reviewed the McCain-Feingold law, it left the parties an alternative: It suggested they could continue to advertise beyond their coordinated expenditure limit if they established an independent unit to design and air the ads.

The catch was that no one in contact with the presidential nominee could participate in developing the advertising. Lawyers for both sides say that means officials at the national party committees could not consult on the content of the ads or where they run; all they could do is write the checks to pay for them.

Adding to the difficulty, since the McCain-Feingold law barred the parties from raising soft money, all of the ads must be funded with money subject to federal contribution limits.

Even with those constraints, the DNC appears on track to establish such an independent advertising unit. -- DNC Studies Independent Unit to Run Kerry Ads (latimes.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:03 PM | Permalink

The state Grange on Thursday sued [Washington] Gov. Gary Locke, challenging the constitutionality of his veto that restricts voters to one party's primary ballot.

The Grange, which is backing a rival plan that is similar to the outlawed blanket primary, asked the state Supreme Court to take direct and speedy review of the governor's action.

Grange lawyer James Johnson, a prominent appeals attorney who is running for a vacant seat on the high court, said Locke's veto was clearly unconstitutional.

"He essentially turned apples into oranges," he said. -- The Daily News Online

Posted by Ed at 7:55 PM | Permalink

The U.S. Department of Justice is concerned Michigan won't be in compliance with new federal election standards if Gov. Jennifer Granholm does not sign legislation that would implement the needed changes.

That's according to an e-mail sent this week by Chris Herren, an attorney for the voting section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, to State Bureau of Elections Director Chris Thomas.

Herren said the department has concerns about whether Michigan will be in line with the Help America Vote Act by this year's first election for federal office on Aug. 3 "if the state does not soon have HAVA compliance legislation in place."

The e-mail also said states that aren't in compliance with certain provisions of the Help America Vote Act by this year's federal elections will face court action. -- Justice Department concerned Michigan won't be in compliance without bills (Detroit Free Press)

Posted by Ed at 7:47 PM | Permalink

[Massachusetts] House Speaker Thomas Finneran warned former Chelmsford Rep. Carol Cleven that her district would be eliminated the day before a legislative committee released its redistricting plan, contradicting Finneran's testimony that he did not know the details of the plan before it was released to members.

A voting rights group challenged the 2001 legislative redistricting plan in federal court, claiming that it discriminated against minority voters while protecting white incumbents. During the trial last year, Finneran testified he was not involved in preparing the district map and had no knowledge of its contents until it was distributed to House members.

Federal prosecutors have now opened a criminal investigation into the redistricting process and cited Finneran in a subpoena seeking documents that would contradict statements made during last year's redistricting trial. -- Cleven: Finneran knew some details on redistricting plan (Lowell Sun Online)

Posted by Ed at 7:22 PM | Permalink

A Montgomery County [Alabama] circuit judge heard arguments for the second time in three days Friday in the case of a Christian radio talk show host who says she was unfairly disqualified from the upcoming Republican primary for a state school board seat.

Republican Party state chairman Marty Connors testified at the hearing that Kelly McGinley was disqualified because she had openly endorsed the Constitution Party on her Web site.

"As a minimum requirement to run on the Republican ticket you should at least not be advocating a third party," Connors told Circuit Judge William Shashy. Connors also said Alabama law gives political parties the right to set their own rules concerning candidates. -- Judge hears arguments on whether talk show host will be on GOP ballot (AP via al.com)

Posted by Ed at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen called on the Federal Election Commission Thursday to investigate possible money laundering by a donor who gave to Republican Geoffrey Davis in Kentucky's 4th District.

The complaint came the same day The Hill reported that Quentin Nesbitt of Cincinnati, after donating the legal limit of $4,000 to Davis, gave $5,000 to Family First PAC; the PAC then made an identical contribution, on the same day, to Davis.

The contribution from Family First PAC was the only one the political action committee has made to a candidate in this election cycle. Nesbitt's contribution was the only donation the PAC has received this election cycle. -- Public Citizen asks FEC to investigate Ky. donation (The Hill.com)

Posted by Ed at 6:48 AM | Permalink

A federal judge Wednesday ordered the 11 counties of the Alabama School Board's Third District to delay printing ballots for the June 1 Republican Primary after a challenge by a Shelby County professor seeking to have his nickname on the ballot.

U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor's decision came a day before a three-judge panel will hear the case of Chris "The Teacher" House, who sued the Alabama Republican Party, State Republican Party Chairman Marty Connors and Secretary of State Nancy Worley.

Proctor's order names Cherokee, Calhoun, Cleburne, Talladega, St. Clair, Shelby, Coosa, Chilton, Elmore, Autauga and Montgomery counties. Arguments in the case are to be heard today by the panel of the 11th Circuit, comprised of Judges Proctor, U.W. Clemon and Susan H. Black. -- Judges to decide if candidate's nickname should be on ballot (Birmingham News)

Nicknames used to be so common on the ballot in Alabama that a friend considering a run for the county school board in 1970 thought it was a political necessity. He considered calling himself C.L. "Buck" Smith, instead of C. Lynwood Smith. He decided not to run, but his real name, sans nickname, apparently did not keep him from being elected to the Circuit Court and appointed to the U.S. District Court.

Posted by Ed at 9:11 PM | Permalink

Discussions concerning a pending St. Landry Parish reapportionment trial drew attorneys from Washington, D.C., today to U.S. District Judge Tucker Melancon's court in Lafayette.

"Honestly, what went on there, was a lot of lawyers talking," said Jon Greenbaum, a Voting Rights Project attorney representing the St. Landry Parish chapter of the NAACP. "There was no change in the trial schedule," which sets a January court date for start of trial, he said. ...

A minority-majority district is one in which the minority population is in the high 50 percent, Greenbaum said. In St. Landry Parish there are three district that meet that number, Districts 2, 3 and 10.

Objections to the plan included allegations that minority numbers were even further packed into the three existing districts rather than creating a fourth.

The NAACP is seeking fourth and fifth districts. ...

"The major difference between the two sides relates to whether or not black voters have an effective opportunity to vote in a candidate of their choice or not.

"District 1 and 12 will be the focus," [Gerald Hebert, attorney for the St. Landry Parish Council and St. Landry Parish School Board] said. -- Judge meets with lawyers in parish redistricting challenge (Opelousas Daily World)

Greenbaum is with the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Posted by Ed at 8:54 PM | Permalink

A traditional political event in Virginia is the Shad Planking, held in Wakefield. Pols from both parties show up, greet voters, have a good time, and help the Ruritan Club raised a wad of money. Instead of a politician, the featured speaker this year was Larry Sabato, political science professor at U.Va. and commentator (his web site quotes one paper that calls him "probably the most quoted college professor in the land"). Here are a few of Sabato's comments, culled from three papers:

"The buzz this year is that the legislature's failure to act is an embarrassment," Sabato said before his speech. "This is something you expect from Maryland, not Virginia."

Partisanship had so poisoned Virginia politics, Sabato told the crowd, that he formally proposed a nonpartisan redistricting system, such as those in Arizona, Iowa and elsewhere. -- More on Their Plates Than Shad (Washington Post)

"I had hoped to see more members of the General Assembly ... not really," Sabato cracked in opening remarks, following his introduction by former Lt. Governor John Hager.

Sabato ragged the crowd and his own school, saying, "I can tell from here half of you are tipsy and the other half are seriously paying attention, just like when I teach in class at UVA. Although General Assembly members don't have to worry about having too many drinks ... you can't fall off a flat earth."

Referring to the overtime, 100-day session still deadlocked over the state budget, Sabato observed, "It's not exactly like the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration, is it?" -- Shad Planking inspires Sabato to new heights (Hopewell News)

Sabato, mixing humor with commentary, said "the last sad 100 days in Richmond" resemble more the "Jerry Springer Show" than an assembly that used to pride itself on its civility. Thursday marks the 100th day of a scheduled 60-day session.

Sabato blamed the legislature's inability to reach a budget compromise on redistricting. He said legislators are in such safe districts that candidates do not have to answer to the electorate.

"Voters become apathetic when they perceive that elections are over before they begin," Sabato said.

A nonpartisan redistricting system would make Virginia's politics more competitive and "prevent more of these horrible legislative deadlocks that threaten to embarrass our justifiably proud state again and again," he said. -- Budget a hot topic at annual Shad Planking (AP via WVEC.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:28 PM | Permalink

The [North Carolina] state Supreme Court said Thursday that a three-judge panel should hear the latest redistricting fight, marking a setback for Republicans looking to block the latest maps.

In an opinion with no dissenting justices, the court sided with legislative leaders and state attorneys who said the General Assembly had the authority to create the panel last year.

The panel, required by law to hear cases in Wake County, will decide whether state House and Senate boundaries approved in November are constitutional.

Republicans opposed to the latest maps argued that Johnston County Superior Court Judge Knox Jenkins still had the authority over redistricting. He struck down two earlier sets of boundaries, from 2001 and 2002.

GOP leaders said Democrats who control the state Senate and share control of the House intentionally took the case from Jenkins because they were unhappy with his past rulings. -- N.C. Supreme Court affirms three-judge panel for redistricting (AP via Wilmington Star)

Posted by Ed at 8:05 PM | Permalink

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus was fined $4,500 for violating state campaign finance law, and ordered by the State Board of Elections to follow stricter public disclosure requirements.

Board members on Tuesday scolded the caucus for breaking the law just three years after it was warned about similar problems.

But the board declined to impose larger fines, and took no action against state Rep. Pete Cunningham, D-Charlotte, who loaned the caucus more than state law allows. The caucus broke the law by repaying the loan with money not meant for that purpose.

Kim Westbrook Strach, the state investigator who examined the case, disputed caucus officials' assertion that the violations were made through ignorance. She also said, in a report released Tuesday, that the caucus treasurer realized she was making a mistake but was overruled by its executive committee. -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg black caucus fined over campaign finances (AP via WVEC.com)

Posted by Ed at 9:28 PM | Permalink

U.S. Department of Justice inspectors may be at the polls in East Chicago [Indiana] primary.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund has asked the U.S. Justice Department Voting Section to send watchers to the polls in the May 4 primary. Lake County Voter Registration Board Director Sally LaSota told the Lake County Election Board Tuesday that she has been contacted by the Justice Department, who asked about credentials.

Federal officials in Washington would not comment on the request as of press time. ...

In his landmark ruling in the Pabey vs. Pastrick election trial, Special Judge Steven King detailed instances of electioneering and fraud that he said appeared to target voters with limited English speaking ability. -- Feds asked to watch E.C. vote (Gary Post-Tribune)

Posted by Ed at 9:19 PM | Permalink

The Inkatha Freedom Party and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) lodged founding papers with the Electoral Court on Wednesday contesting the declaration of last week's elections as free and fair.

A court official confirmed receipt of the documents.

"The papers will now be sent to the judges, who will decide on dates for the hearings, merit allowing."

The Independent Electoral Commission, named as the respondent in both matters, would be given an opportunity to respond before a date and venue was decided for each hearing. -- IFP, FF+ lodge papers in electoral court (iafrica.com )

Posted by Ed at 9:09 PM | Permalink

Congressional candidate Henry Cuellar asked a state court to force U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez to list specific examples of how voting fraud may have occurred during election recounts in two South Texas counties.

And if the seven-year incumbent doesn't promptly provide such details, Cuellar (pictured, left) says, any claims of wrongdoing in Rodriguez's lawsuit over the results of the District 28 recount should be tossed out.

Rodriguez led by 150 votes when the recounts of the Democratic primary began in Webb and Zapata counties in late March. By the time they were done, Cuellar led by nearly 200 votes.

The Cuellar campaign says the unusual vote swing alone is not enough to support a lawsuit.

"There is no allegation of any particularized defect, error or irregularity in the recount," wrote Austin lawyer Steve Bickerstaff, representing Cuellar. -- Cuellar Wants Rodriguez To Come Up With Proof (AP via KSAT.com)

Posted by Ed at 9:02 PM | Permalink

A citizens' group in Takoma Park will file suit Thursday against the state Board of Elections, charging that Maryland's 16,000 new electronic voting machines fail to comply with state law.

The lawsuit, to be filed in Anne Arundel Circuit Court, asks that the machines be decertified until the manufacturer remedy security flaws, and they are upgraded to print paper records of cast ballots.

The lawsuit brought by the Campaign for Verifiable Voting -- better known as truevotemd.org -- alleges that state elections officials violated the law when they certified the touch-screen devices and failed to decertify them once computer experts found they were susceptible to vote-switching.

The suit cites Maryland election law that states the elections board cannot certify a voting system unless it determines that the system is secure, reliable and "capable of providing an audit trail of all ballots cast so that, in a recount, the election can be reconstructed."

State law also requires that the board decertify a system if it "no longer protects the security of the voting process," the suit adds. -- Lawsuit challenges Md. voting machines (baltimoresun.com)

Posted by Ed at 8:57 PM | Permalink

A largely Hispanic group [in Arizona] will likely go to federal court as early as this week seeking to get the state's new legislative boundaries cleared promptly to give election officials and candidates enough time to prepare for this fall's primary.

In a separate action Tuesday, the Independent Redistricting Commission, which carved the new court-ordered map, asked the U.S. Justice Department to sign off on the map by May 15.

Members of the Arizona Minority Coalition said there is no assurance that Justice Department officials will act promptly, which is why the group plans to ask the federal court to intervene. The coalition plans to file the legal action in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. -- Minority group may ask court to hurry redistricting (Arizona Republic)

Posted by Ed at 8:49 PM | Permalink

Two planeloads filled with election material arrived in Afghanistan on Thursday ahead of a stepped-up drive to register people for a vote later this year seen as a key step toward democracy for the war-torn country, officials said.

Some 180 metric tons of booklets, laminating equipment, cameras and other items to be used in the September vote touched down at Kabul's international airport.

"This is a big step in our logistical preparations providing eligible Afghan men and women outside of the regional capitals with the opportunity to register to vote," Farooq Wardak, the head of the Afghan electoral body, said during a ceremony at the airport. -- Tons of election material arrives in Afghanistan (PakTribune.com)

Posted by Ed at 10:04 AM | Permalink

Voter registration in Northern Ireland should take place every five years instead of every year, a House of Commons committee was told today.

In a six-point plan for getting voters back on the register, Sinn Fein also told the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee that household registration should replace individual registration.

The party also said non-photographic forms of identification should be deemed acceptable at polling stations and voting applications should be received up to a week before elections are held.

Sinn Fein vice president Pat Doherty said the new measures were needed because 210,000 people had lost their votes under the current system which was introduced in 2002 to counteract voter fraud. -- Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Thousands Denied Right to Vote, MPs Told (Scotsman.com)

Posted by Ed at 10:01 AM | Permalink

The Inkatha Freedom Party is set to contest the result of elections in the highly contested KwaZulu-Natal province [in South Africa] which according to results declared by the Independent Electoral Commission were free and fair.

In terms of those results, the IFP slipped to second biggest party behind the African National Congress by about 47% to 37%.

This translates to 38 and 30 seats in the 80 seat legislature respectively. -- IFP to contest election result (Sunday Times, South Africa)

The IFP has several press releases on its website complaining about various election irregularities.

Posted by Ed at 9:54 AM | Permalink

The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider if Texas Republicans went too far last year in their strategy to enact new GOP-friendly congressional boundaries.

The congressional map that could give Texas Republicans six more seats cleared the state Legislature after months of turmoil and two walkouts by Democr