AP reports: Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned from Congress on Friday, effective immediately, in the wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former teenage male page. ...

Foley, 52, had been a shoo-in for a new term until the e-mail correspondence surfaced in recent days.

His resignation comes less than six weeks before the elections and further complicates the political landscape for Republicans, who are fighting to retain control of Congress. Democrats need to win a net of 15 Republican seats to regain the power they lost in 1994.

Florida Republicans planned to meet as soon as Monday to name a replacement in Foley's district, which President Bush won with 55 percent in 2004 and is now in play for November. Though Florida ballots have already been printed with Foley's name and cannot be changed, any votes for Foley will count toward the party's choice. -- Foley resigns from Congress over e-mails - Yahoo! News

Update: DailyKos has the text of the statute:

"In the event that death, resignation, withdrawal, removal, or any other cause or event should cause a party to have a vacancy in nomination which leaves no candidate for an office from such party, the Department of State shall notify the chair of the appropriate state, district, or county political party executive committee of such party; and, within 5 days, the chair shall call a meeting of his or her executive committee to consider designation of a nominee to fill the vacancy.

The name of any person so designated shall be submitted to the Department of State within 7 days after notice to the chair in order that the person designated may have his or her name on the ballot of the ensuing general election. If the name of the new nominee is submitted after the certification of results of the preceding primary election, however, the ballots shall not be changed and the former party nominee's name will appear on the ballot.

Any ballots cast for the former party nominee will be counted for the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee. If there is no opposition to the party nominee, the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee will be elected to office at the general election. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "district political party executive committee" means the members of the state executive committee of a political party from hose counties comprising the area involving a district office."

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The Los Angeles Times reports: A tax-exempt group set up to create jobs is being used by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to bankroll a pair of splashy bill-signing events designed to attract publicity as he runs for reelection.

Unlike contributions to Schwarzenegger's campaign account, donations to the nonprofit are not subject to caps or disclosure requirements. ...

The events were meant to showcase the governor's environmental credentials at a time when he wants to maximize his appeal to independent voters.

Part of the cost is being picked up by the Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, a nonprofit panel that Schwarzenegger launched in 2004 to lure business to California. The commission is planning to raise about $25,000 to help pay for the events, according to executive director Mark Mosher. -- Corporate Gifts Help Governor Fund Bill-Signing Ceremonies - Los Angeles Times

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The Washington Post reports:
National Muslim civic leaders announced a new push yesterday to get the country's estimated 2.2 million registered Muslim voters to the polls, unveiling a Web site that spells out key races of "Muslim interest" and ATM-like voter registration machines that will be put in mosques and Islamic student centers.

The campaign by the Washington-based Muslim American Society is a continuation of an effort that has been underway since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to increase American Muslims' involvement in the political process. A 2005 survey by the Muslim American Political Action Committee said 84 percent of registered Muslims voted in the November 2004 election, compared with 41 percent in 2000.

The efforts are getting more tailored, Muslim leaders said in announcing the creation of the society's Center for Electoral Empowerment. The center's main feature is a Web site that offers details on issues that the political action committee says are the most important to Muslim voters: concerns about "the erosion of civil liberties," "fair" immigration reform and foreign policy, said Mukit Hossain, president of MAPAC. ...

The focus on Muslim voting -- both by Muslim American leaders and political candidates -- rose again after the 2004 election, when the Muslim vote moved significantly away from the Republican Party. -- Effort Aims To Push Muslims To the Polls - washingtonpost.com

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The Washington Post reports: A new group called Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good said yesterday that it will distribute at least 1 million voter guides before the Nov. 7 elections, emphasizing church teachings on war, poverty and social justice as well as on abortion, contraception and homosexuality.

The 12-page booklet, called "Voting for the Common Good: A Practical Guide for Conscientious Catholics," is part of a broader effort by liberal and moderate religious groups to challenge the Christian right on moral values, said Alexia Kelley, the group's executive director and a former employee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. ...

In Protestant churches, the Christian Coalition's guides will face competition this year from "Voting God's Politics," a brochure produced by the liberal evangelical magazine Sojourners and the anti-poverty group Call to Renewal. Like the Common Good guide, it discusses issues, not individual candidates.

"Even the term 'voter guide' has been so tainted by the religious right that people are afraid that ours is going to be just a left-wing version of theirs, a thinly camouflaged signal to vote for particular candidates," said Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners. "Our guide levels the playing field; it makes clear that God is not a Republican or a Democrat." -- Religious-Right Voter Guides Facing Challenge From Left - washingtonpost.com

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AFL-CIO, Chamber of Commerce, National Education Association
and OMB Watch issued this statement earlier this week: Sept. 8, 2006 marked the beginning of a 60-day blackout period for broadcasts that mention federal candidates, even if the broadcasts are wholly unrelated to the election. During this time, it will be a federal crime for unions, other nonprofits, and business corporations to air a message asking citizens to contact representatives in Congress to vote yes or no on a bill.

As organizations deeply concerned with public policy issues, we condemn this clampdown on free speech and call on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to use its power under the McCain-Feingold campaign reform law to exempt broadcasts that are unrelated to federal elections.

Campaign finance rules are supposed to protect us from corruption, but blocking off legislative and issue broadcast communications with the public does not serve that purpose. In order for democracy to function and government to be held accountable, citizens must be able to contact legislators and legislators need to hear from them. One of the most effective ways for citizen groups to reach the public is through broadcast communications. -- OMB Watch - Law Meant to Regulate 'Sham' Issue Ads Instead Silences Citizens Groups

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AP reports: A candidate in a special legislative election has filed a petition in Hinds County Circuit Court trying to block a state Election Commission decision that reopened the qualifying deadline in his contest and four others around the state.

Jim Arnold of Kosciusko, a candidate for the state Senate District 14 seat, filed the petition Wednesday.

The seat is open because of the death of Sen. Robert “Bunky” Huggins, R-Greenwood. One other Senate seat and two House seats also will be filled Nov. 7.

Originally, candidates’ qualifying deadline for the four special legislative elections was Sept. 8. But, the state Election Commission voted 2-1 last week to extend the deadline to Oct. 24.

Attorney General Jim Hood and Gov. Haley Barbour voted for the extension. Secretary of State Eric Clark voted against it.

Hood cited a state law that calls for the qualifying deadline in a special election to be “not less than 10 days” from the election. Clark said this meant a deadline could be more than 10 days, but Hood said it meant exactly 10 days.

In his petition for an injunction, Arnold — an attorney — says the extension is illegal and is designed to disenfranchise voters. The petition represents only one side of a legal argument, and it was not immediately clear when a judge would rule on it. -- Candidate seeks to stop new filing deadline in legislative races - The Clarion-Ledger

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Bradley Heard informs me by email: Today, a federal judge in Atlanta blocked enforcement of Georgia state regulations that went into effect earlier this year that imposed needlessly restrictive administrative requirements on voter registration activities. The plaintiffs, civic organizations and voting rights groups, said the laws were in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), and would severely limit the effectiveness of efforts to increase and encourage participation in the political process.

( To view the legal documents, go to: http://www.moldenholley.com/ACORN_v_Cox.htm )

“These regulations would have made the operation of an effective voter registration program nearly impossible by removing our ability to check applications,” said Dana Williams, Chairman of Georgia ACORN. “ACORN helped over 22,000 Georgia citizens register to vote in our 2004 registration drive. We knew we were doing that work with success and with integrity because we had a quality control system that checked the applications collected by our staff and volunteers.”

Today’s decision is one in a series of victories in the past two years arising from litigation in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio blocking enforcement of state laws and regulations that severely burdened third-party voter registration activities and denied traditionally disenfranchised citizens assistance in registering to vote.

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The New York Times reports: Several prominent scientists said yesterday that they had formed an organization dedicated to electing politicians “who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.”

Organizers of the group, Scientists and Engineers for America, said it would be nonpartisan, but in interviews several said Bush administration science policies had led them to act. The issues they cited included the administration’s position on climate change, its restrictions on stem cell research and delays in authorizing the over-the-counter sale of emergency contraception.

In a statement posted on its Web site (www.sefora.org), the group said scientists and engineers had an obligation “to enter the political debate when the nation’s leaders systematically ignore scientific evidence and analysis, put ideological interest ahead of scientific truths, suppress valid scientific evidence and harass and threaten scientists for speaking honestly about their research.” ...

Mike Brown, the group’s executive director, said it would be a 527 organization under tax laws, meaning that it could be involved in electoral politics, and that contributions to the group would not be tax deductible. He said it would focus its resources — Internet advertising, speakers and other events — on races in which science issues play a part.

The group is looking at the Senate race in Virginia between George Allen, the incumbent Republican, and James Webb, a Democrat; a stem cell ballot issue in Missouri; the question of intelligent design in Ohio; and Congressional races in Washington State, Mr. Brown said. -- Scientists Form Group to Support Science-Friendly Candidates - New York Times

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The New York Times reports: Three Senate Democrats proposed emergency legislation on Tuesday to reimburse states for printing paper ballots in case of problems with electronic voting machines on Nov. 7.

The proposal is a response to grass-roots pressures and growing concern by local and state officials about touch-screen machines. An estimated 40 percent of voters will use those machines in the election. ...

Republican leadership aides were skeptical about the prospects for the measure. It would have to advance without opposition from any senator and then make it through the House in the short time available before Election Day.

Dozens of states are using optical-scan and touch-screen machines to comply with federal laws intended to phase out lever and punch-card machines after the hanging-chads confusion of the 2000 presidential election. Widespread problems were reported with the new technology and with the poll workers using them this year in primaries in Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio and elsewhere. -- Bill Would Reimburse States for Printing Alternate Ballots - New York Times

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The Washington Post reports: Two weeks after a stinging Democratic primary defeat, Maryland state Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. announced last night that he had switched parties and would seek reelection as a Republican. ...

Giannetti's challenger, James C. Rosapepe, won about 59 percent of the vote in the Sept. 12 primary. ...

"Evidently, [Giannetti] found a loophole in the state sore-loser law,'' Rosapepe said, referring to a Maryland law that generally bars candidates who lose a primary from running again in the general election.

GOP officials said the law makes an exception when a party's nominee withdraws after the primary. John Stafford, the winner of the Republican primary in the district, stepped aside this week. -- Giannetti Switches To GOP After Loss - washingtonpost.com

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The Washington Post reports: There is no sexier topic in politics these days than "microtargeting." That's the new science (some say dark art) by which candidates use the latest data-mining technology to vacuum every last scrap of information about voters, then churn out custom-tailored messages designed to herd their supporters to the polls.

Here in Rep. Steve Chabot's campaign headquarters, microtargeting does not seem quite as glamorous as advertised. There are 10 phones arranged neatly on a long wooden table. Nearby sit two stacks of paper, each filled with names, each name assigned a bar code.

Every evening, volunteers file into this room to place waves of phone calls aimed at identifying the people who are most likely to reward this six-term Republican with a seventh. At the end of the evening, the results -- a trove of the likes and dislikes of 1st District voters -- are scanned into a database. It is painstaking work.

But Chabot and his Democratic challenger, Cincinnati City Council member John Cranley, have placed large bets that it will prove effective. Both candidates have spent months combing through voter lists to find "drop-off" voters -- those who turn out in presidential election years but rarely in midterm contests. In a district as evenly divided as this one -- President Bush won it by just 3,000 votes in 2004 -- the party best equipped to find and persuade these individuals to turn out on Nov. 7 will probably end up on top. -- In Ohio, a Battle of Databases - washingtonpost.com

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AP reports: Democrats are openly lining up election-day teams of lawyers around the country to fight what they allege could be GOP efforts to suppress votes.

Republicans quietly say they have their own strategies for potential problems Nov. 7 but won't give specifics. They say Democrats' concerns are overblown. ...

Scrutiny of vote counting is sure to he high this election with parties fighting in many close congressional races around the country. Republicans are struggling to keep their House majority, while in Ohio Democrats have their best chance in almost a decade to take back the governor's office.

The Democratic National Committee has set up a toll-free hot line for voters having problems and boasts it will have thousands of volunteer lawyers in 18 states available to fight ballot challenges. -- AP Wire | 09/25/2006 | Parties lining up lawyers for election day challenges

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: The state has filed a notice that it intends to appeal to a Superior Court judge's ruling that declared Georgia's photo ID law unconstitutional, blocking enforcement of the law in this fall's general election.

The notice was filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court by Attorney General Thurbert Baker on behalf of Gov. Sonny Perdue and the state Board of Elections. Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. last week rejected the state's latest attempt to require voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls.

The notice puts the state on record that it will at some point file the appeal, raising specific points. -- State appeals rejection of photo ID law | ajc.com

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The New York Times reports: Eva Charlene Steele, a recent transplant from Missouri, has no driver’s license or other form of state identification. So after voting all her adult life, Mrs. Steele will not be voting in November because of an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship to register. ...

Russell K. Pearce, a leading proponent of the new requirement, offers no apologies. ...

Mrs. Steele and Mr. Pearce are two players in a spreading partisan brawl over new and proposed voting requirements around the country. Republicans say the laws are needed to combat fraud, especially among illegal immigrants. Democrats say there is minimal fraud, if any, and accuse Republicans of suppressing the votes of those least likely to have the required documentation — minorities, the poor and the elderly — who tend to vote for Democrats.

In tight races, Democrats say, the loss of votes could matter in November.

In Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest in population, election officials said that 35 percent of new registrations were rejected for insufficient proof of citizenship last year and that 17 percent had been rejected so far this year. It is not known how many of the rejected registrants were not citizens or were unable to prove their citizenship because they had lost or could not locate birth certificates and other documents. -- Stricter Voting Laws Carve Latest Partisan Divide - New York Times

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The Washington Times reports: A Hollywood producer who sought to hire President Clinton as a "rainmaker" has told a California court the former president and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, cheated him out of a multimillion-dollar Internet venture and he wants his money back.

In a complaint to be heard today in Superior Court in Los Angeles, Peter F. Paul says the scheme was orchestrated by Mrs. Clinton, who convinced him to spend $1.9 million on campaign fundraisers prior to her November 2000 election to the Senate and then reneged on promises to help him on the Internet deal.

The 43-page complaint, which also accuses Mr. Clinton and others involved in Mrs. Clinton's "New York Senate 2000" campaign of taking part in the conspiracy, seeks $30 million in stock losses and $1.9 million in cash. The complaint is part of a pending lawsuit against Mr. Clinton and will be heard by Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz.

In a telephone interview from his California home, Paul, a convicted felon, said the Clintons "looted" his business to generate the largest contribution to Mrs. Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign in New York. Describing himself as a "disgruntled business associate" and not a "disgruntled contributor," he said the Clintons reneged on promises they made that Mr. Clinton would work with him after he left the White House. -- Producer accuses Clintons of 'looting' - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

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The Houston Chronicle reports: Fewer than 125 people have contributed 40 percent of the money raised in the governor's race, focusing a spotlight on mega-donors and their interests.

An analysis by the Houston Chronicle of the $25 million raised by the four major candidates between last year and the first six months of this year found key donors with interests ranging from energy and tort laws to food processing and home building. ...

Texas is one of seven states with no limits on the size of campaign contributions. Critics say the absence of limits has created super-donors who wield a disproportionate amount of political power.

Last week a coalition of citizen groups, including the League of Women Voters and Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, called for a $100,000 aggregate limit on the amount individuals can give to all state candidates and political committees. -- Mega-donor trend spurs call for cap on political spending

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The Tuscaloosa News reports: State Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, said he isn’t going to challenge the candidacy of Democratic opponent Ann Skelton and neither will the state Republican Party. “If Gerald’s not, we’re not," said GOP Chairwoman Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh.

The Democratic Executive Committee nominated Skelton, who also lives in Cottondale, to run against Allen after Allen’s original opponent withdrew because he lived just outside state House District 62 and wasn’t legally qualified to run.

Allen and Cavanaugh had considered a challenge to Skelton’s nomination because they believed the Democratic Party couldn’t nominate a new candidate when there wasn’t a legal vacancy. Allen said a challenge would take too much money that could be used elsewhere. Besides, he said, a legal challenge might last beyond the Nov. 7 primary. Democrats disagreed that a replacement nominee couldn’t be chosen. -- DANA BEYERLE: Organizations shell out political endorsements - Tuscaloosa

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AP reports: The former owner of the telemarketing company that carried out a GOP phone jamming plot against New Hampshire Democrats is negotiating a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

Shaun Hansen, 34, is charged with conspiring to commit and aiding the commission of telephone harassment. His trial had been scheduled to begin Oct. 3. However, documents filed Friday indicate the trial would be postponed until Dec. 3 while lawyers work out a possible plea deal.

If no deal is reached, lawyers agreed to use the time to review depositions obtained in a related civil case Democrats have filed in Hillsborough County Superior Court. -- SunJournal.com - Plea being negotiated in GOP phone jamming

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If you just can't get enough of political advertising, go to the Washington Post "Mixed Messages": The database includes political advertisements funded by campaigns, parties, committees, and independent advocacy groups. Most of the ads are tied to specific U.S. House, U.S. Senate, or gubernatorial races throughout the country. Some of the ads are more general "issue" or advocacy ads not tied to a particular race or candidate. You can search for ads based on the criteria listed below.
101 Ads Catalogued

» By Candidate/Organization
» By State
» By Party
» By Type of Race
» By Issue
» By Character
» By Cue
» By Dissemination
» By Music
» By Narrator Gender
» By Type
-- Mixed Messages: Tracking Political Advertising | washingtonpost.com's Political Ads Database

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AP reports: A judge who had been due to rule on the constitutionality of Arizona's legislative district map has been granted a 60-day extension to review evidence from a trial conducted nearly three years ago.

Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor signed an order dated Sept. 15 authorizing the extra time for Judge Kenneth Fields of Maricopa County Superior Court to review evidence from a nonjury trial conducted over a month's span in late 2003.

Fields ruled in early 2004 that the legislative map was unconstitutional, but the Arizona Court of Appeals in 2005 overturned his ruling and ordered him to use different legal standards when considering the case again.
After further proceedings, Fields took the case under advisement after a hearing July 21 and had been due to rule within 60 days, a period that ended Tuesday. McGregor granted Fields' request for an extension until Nov. 15. -- District-map ruling delayed | www.azstarnet.com ®

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The Montgomery Advertiser reports: State Auditor Beth Chapman called on the Alabama Ethics Commission to quickly issue a ruling on voter education commercials featuring Secretary of State Nancy Worley that she said are essentially campaign ads.

Worley dismissed the allegations as an election-year stunt.

Chapman, who faces Worley in the Nov. 7 election for secretary of state, also asked that Worley stop hand-delivering checks reimbursing county government for expenses to comply with federal election law. She said the practice is a campaign photo opportunity delaying much-needed money to counties.

The trips are also an unnecessary expense, potentially costing taxpayers $3,350 compared with the $26.13 it would cost to mail the checks, Chapman said. -- montgomeryadvertiser.com :: Worley's actions draw criticism

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The Los Angeles Times reports: Worried that discontent among conservatives and the lack of a clear standard-bearer to follow President Bush might cost Republicans in November, top evangelical leaders pleaded with their followers Friday to put aside frustrations and turn out for GOP candidates.

The appeals, coming on the opening day of a weekend-long rally and strategy conference, included entreaties to pastors to use their pulpits on behalf of the social conservative agenda. ...

The Values Voter Summit — which will include appearances by several potential GOP presidential hopefuls — underscores evangelicals' growing power in national politics. The agenda serves as a road map of their tactics for energizing voters, including sessions on fighting gay marriage, attacking Hollywood liberalism and denouncing embryonic stem-cell research.

Kicking off the conference Friday, Dobson joined other evangelical chieftains in lobbying pastors to feel more free to advocate for conservative causes from the pulpit despite recent investigations by the Internal Revenue Service into alleged partisan activities by churches. One such investigation has ensnared the liberal All Saints Church in Pasadena, over a sermon denouncing the Iraq war shortly before the 2004 election. -- Tactic Uses Pulpits to Power the GOP - Los Angeles Times

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AP reports: The Missouri Supreme Court agreed yesterday to quickly consider an appeal of a judge’s ruling throwing out a new law requiring voters to show a photo identification before casting a ballot.

A Cole County judge last week ruled the identification requirement is an unconstitutional infringement on the fundamental right to vote.

The offices of the attorney general and secretary of state asked the Supreme Court to consider the matter quickly so the issue is resolved before Election Day. The court agreed and set a hearing for Oct. 4, when it is meeting to consider an appeal of a decision placing a tobacco tax increase on the Nov. 7 ballot. -- Supreme Court plans to expedite voter ID appeal

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AP reports: After two years of battles at both the courthouse and the state Capitol, a law requiring photo ID at the polls will not be enforced when Georgians vote for governor, lieutenant governor and other state races in November.

A judge's rebuff this week of the Republican-backed plan, which would have pared down the forms of identification a voter can show from 17 to 6, was the latest in a two-year series of legal setbacks for the effort.

While the state's election board said Friday that it would not ask a higher court to rule on their appeal before the Nov. 7 election, top Georgia Republicans were saying that it may take a constitutional amendment to finally get the law enforced. ...

Friday's election board vote directs state lawyers to appeal the ruling, but not to ask a judge to speed up a decision. -- Macon Telegraph | 09/23/2006 | Election board vote means no photo ID required in November

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: A community-action agency that has clashed with Secretary of State Ken Blackwell over Ohio's new voter-registration rules is suing Blackwell, claiming he also failed to enforce the national "motor voter" law.

In a lawsuit to be filed this morning in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and two public assistance recipients from Northeast Ohio accuse Blackwell and Barbara Riley, director of the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, of failing to give thousands of low-income Ohioans the opportunity to register to vote.

While Elections officials in Iowa and North Carolina have worked with ACORN to improve voter registration, Blackwell has done little more than provide a toll-free number for human services directors to call when they run out of registration forms, said Lisa Danetz, an attorney at the National Voting Rights Institute who is handling the case. ...

Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor, has been hounded by partisan claims that he has tried to disenfranchise poor, mostly Democratic voters. The lawsuit, whose other two plaintiffs are welfare recipients Carrie Harkless of Lorain and Tameca Mardis of Cleveland, piles on new charges, blaming Blackwell and Riley for low registration rates and the absence of registration forms at many county human services offices. -- Blackwell sued, accused of failing voter registrations

Note: A copy of the complaint is here. Thanks to Brenda Wright of NVRI for the tip and complaint.

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The New York Times reports: In his early 20’s, John R. Koza and fellow graduate students invented a brutally complicated board game based on the Electoral College that became a brief cult hit and recently fetched $100 for an antique version on eBay.

By his 30’s, Dr. Koza was a co-inventor of the scratch-off lottery ticket and found it one of the few sure ways to find fortune with the lottery.

Now, a 63-year-old eminence among computer scientists who teaches genetic programming at Stanford, Dr. Koza has decided to top off things with an end run on the Constitution. He has concocted a plan for states to skirt the Electoral College system legally to insure the election of whichever presidential candidate receives the most votes nationwide. ...

The first fruit of his effort, a bill approved by the California legislature that would allocate the state’s 55 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, sits on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk. The governor has to decide by Sept. 30 whether to sign it, a decision that may well determine whether Dr. Koza’s scheme takes flight or becomes another relic in the history of efforts to kill the Electoral College. -- Innovator Devises Way Around Electoral College - New York Times

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The New York Times reports: A California church under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for possible violations of laws against political activities by churches has denied the agency’s request for documents.

The decision forces the I.R.S. either to drop the case or to ask the Justice Department to take the church, All Saints Episcopal Church, in Pasadena, to court. The agency could also revoke the church’s tax exemption, but legal experts said that was unlikely.

The church said it regarded an I.R.S. investigation of an antiwar sermon delivered by the church’s former rector on the Sunday before the 2004 election as an attack on freedom of speech and religion.

“We have nothing to hide, but there are principles here we think we need to uphold,” said Robert A. Long, the lay leader, or senior warden, of All Saints.

Mr. Long said the 26 members of the church’s vestry, or governing body, had voted unanimously to decline to comply with two formal requests, called administrative summonses, for documents, testimony and other information that it received from the I.R.S. last Friday. -- I.R.S. Inquiry Into Sermon Is Challenged by Church - New York Times

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AP reports: The state attorney general is using a 2003 law about mail-in ballots to intimidate elderly, disabled and minority voters who typically favor Democrats, according to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday by the Texas Democratic Party.

The lawsuit aims to overturn parts of the Texas Election Code that criminalize people who help voters with their mail-in ballots.

The defendants are Secretary of State Roger Williams and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a pair of Republicans accused by Democrats of selectively targeting blacks, Hispanics and old people through his voter fraud task force.

The statutes in question make it illegal for anyone other than voters to possess their own mail-in ballots. That prevents political parties and community activists from helping voters mail their ballots, a "common practice by individuals, political parties and other organizations ... to maximize voter turnout," the lawsuit reads.

Abbott's voter fraud task force has 13 open cases, all involving Democrats, according to the Texas Democratic Party. Twelve of the 13 defendants are black or Hispanic, and in eight of those cases Abbott prosecuted someone for mailing or delivering someone else's sealed ballot, Democrats said. -- Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Texas/Southwest

Note: Read more background on the case at the Lone Star Project's website, including a copy of the complaint.

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The federal court in the Middle District of Alabama has ordered Chilton County to develop a new election plan to be used in the 2008 election. The order stems from a suit brought by two white voters to dismantle the cumulative voting plan used in the county since 1988. The CV plan was agreed by the plaintiffs and defendants and put into effect by a consent decree.

The court's opinon and
order may be downloaded here.

Note: James Blacksher and I represent the plaintiffs in this action. We have already appealed the decision setting aside the 1988 injuntion.

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NPR has an audio report: The House has approved a bill that requires all people voting in federal elections to show a photo ID in 2008 and proof of citizenship by 2010. Supporters say it's the only way to fight election fraud. Opponents say the bill would put hurdles in the way of some voters. -- NPR : Congress Debates Imposing Voter ID Rules

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The Washington Post reports: A week after the primary election was plagued by human error and technical glitches, Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) called yesterday for the state to scrap its $106 million electronic voting apparatus and revert to a paper ballot system for the November election.

"When in doubt, go paper, go low-tech," he said.

Linda H. Lamone, the administrator of the Maryland State Board of Elections, quickly denounced the plan to swap voting systems just seven weeks before the general election as "crazy." And Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said it "cannot happen. It will not happen."

Ehrlich said that, if necessary, he would call a special session of the Maryland General Assembly to change the law to allow paper ballots. But Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) dismissed the idea of a special session, saying elections officials should focus instead on fixing the current system. -- Ehrlich Wants Paper Ballots For Nov. Vote - washingtonpost.com

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The Richmond Times Dispatch reports: The State Board of Elections voted unanimously yesterday to decertify the use of punch-card and mechanical-lever voting machines in Virginia.

Punch-card machines gained infamy in the Florida presidential election in 2000 when the question of how to count pregnant, dimpled and hanging chads created a near constitutional crisis.

Congress then passed the Help America Vote Act, which required all the states to replace the punch-card and mechanical-lever machines by 2006. Congress appropriated $3 billion to do it.

All the old machines were replaced in Virginia by the end of last year. The state expects about $67 million to buy and install the new machines and make other voting upgrades. -- TimesDispatch.com | Board votes to decertify use of old voting machines in state

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The New York Daily News reports: As few as 29 disabled voters may have participated in the city's limited use of electronic voting machines in last week's primary election - at a cost of nearly $52,000 per voter.

Intended to be used primarily by disabled voters, 22 electronic ballot scanners were deployed at polling sites set up in each of the Board of Elections' five borough offices.

The board spent at least $500,000 to buy the machines, and an additional $1 million on an advisory mailing about them that was sent to all 3.7 million enrolled voters before the primary.

Election officials have said that 580 voters used the voting devices, but gave no information on whether those voters were disabled or not. -- New York Daily News - Politics - Disabled vote tab: 52G each

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The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Utah's lone Democrat in Congress may get carved into a Democratic-leaning district under a plan Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and legislative leaders are pushing as a way to drum up support for Utah to get a fourth congressional seat.

Huntsman, House Speaker Greg Curtis and Senate President John Valentine - all Republicans - endorsed a map Wednesday for four congressional districts, in which Matheson would represent northern Salt Lake County and Summit and Morgan counties.

Matheson was first elected in a district that was wholly within Salt Lake County, but was gerrymandered into a more Republican district stretching from Salt Lake City's Avenues all the way to the Utah-Arizona state line.

The state leaders' move comes as an attempt to assuage congressional Democrats' fear that if they vote to give Utah a fourth U.S. House seat, Matheson would be merged into a district more Republican than his current rea. A bill awaiting action in Congress would grant Republican-dominated Utah another House seat as a way to counterbalance a seat for the Democratic haven of the District of Columbia, which currently has no voting member of Congress. -- Salt Lake Tribune - GOP pitches congressional district plan

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The Los Angeles Times reports: Recall petitions need to be printed only in English, even when some voters are not proficient in the language, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The federal Voting Rights Act requires ballots and other government-produced election material to be published in other languages if more than 5% of the voters speak a different language.

But in a case involving the Santa Ana Unified School District, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the requirement did not apply to recall petitions written and circulated by citizens.

The court reversed a decision last year by a 9th Circuit panel that said petitions to recall Santa Ana school board Trustee Nativo V. Lopez in 2003 should have been printed in Spanish as well as English. Lopez was recalled by a large margin. -- Ruling Against Santa Ana's English-Only Recall Petitions Is Reversed - Los Angeles Times

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The Los Angeles Times reports: A liberal Pasadena church facing an IRS investigation over alleged politicking sounded a defiant note Sunday, with its leaders and many congregants saying the probe amounted to an assault on their constitutional rights and that they were inclined to defy the agency's request for documents.

"These people are offended," said the Rev. Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, after delivering an impassioned sermon about the investigation to a standing-room-only crowd of about 900. "Freedom of speech and freedom of religion have been assaulted by this act of the IRS, and I think my people want to be heard in court."

Bacon said he would consult with attorneys and church officials before deciding a course of action but that the vast majority of parishioners with whom he spoke Sunday thought the church should resist a summons demanding copies of newsletters, e-mails and other records.

"I believe we should respectfully decline to produce the documents," said Cathy Shearon, an All Saints parishioner "off and on" for more than 20 years. "Being passive plays into the culture of oppression." -- Pasadena Church May Fight IRS Summons - Los Angeles Times

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AP reports: A Douglas County judge issued an order Monday blocking the implementation of a law that would divide the Omaha district into three smaller districts and create a new "learning community" of all districts in Sarpy and Douglas counties. ...

offey also said the voting structure of the learning community is "grossly disproportionate" and violates the Nebraska Constitution.

The schools law says any proposal must win approval from a majority of the learning community council's 11 voting members, and the "yes" votes must represent at least one-third of the public school enrollment in Douglas and Sarpy Counties.

"Nothing in the act in any way attempts to equalize the voting rights of the various and varied member school districts and those they represent," Coffey said. -- Sioux City Journal: Judge issues order blocking law that divides Omaha district

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The Baltimore Sun reports: A measure requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is expected to pass the House today, the latest example of the push toward stricter scrutiny of citizenship status in the United States.

The legislation is one of a series of tightly focused bills crafted by House Republican leaders who want to strengthen border security and crack down on illegal immigration. It is described by its sponsor, Rep. Henry J. Hyde, an Illinois Republican, as a safeguard against voter fraud.

The proposed Federal Election Integrity Act follows a spate of state-level laws passed this year that require ID or proof of citizenship to vote. One such law was declared unconstitutional yesterday by a Georgia judge, who said the state's new photo ID requirements infringed on voter rights.

Democrats say that the move to impose a national photo ID requirement is part of a larger Republican effort to discourage participation by low-income and minority voters likely to back Democratic candidates - a charge GOP lawmakers strongly deny. -- Bill requiring photo ID to vote is before House - baltimoresun.com

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