The Birmingham News reports: "Where is my $500?" asked Larry Banks Jr., striding up to a big blue tent outside the Ragland Municipal Complex.

The tent shaded lemonade, crackers and raffle tickets - just some of the incentives laid out to encourage the people of Ragland to show up at the polls for Tuesday's runoff election.

There was the promise of a raffle with a cash prize ranging from $50 to $1,000, depending on how many people turned out to vote. There was a 10 percent discount at the local grocery store. ...

The precinct that contains Ragland has a bit more than 1,900 registered voters. In the June 3 election, only 260 of them showed up. ...

When all the ballots had been marked and cast Tuesday evening, 519 people in the precinct had voted, Daffron said, for a turnout of more than 25 percent. -- Ragland rallies to increase voter turnout- al.com

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The PBS documentary Election Day will air tonight on many PBS stations. Look for the P.O.V. series or check the local listings here.

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The Worcester Telegram reports: After last year’s elections, the Election Commission developed criteria to evaluate the city’s polling locations, and based on those evaluations, it found that a number of sites had problems or deficiencies that need to be addressed. Election officials then spent the past several months working on securing potential new polling sites.

What resulted was a series of recommendations, which include eliminating nearly all public school buildings as sites for residents to cast their ballots. In their place, election officials are looking to use more spacious digs in some church or synagogue halls, community rooms within apartment complexes and nursing homes, a college (Assumption) and, yes, even three supermarkets.

The common characteristics of all the new locations are that they have ample parking and are fairly easy to get to.

Perhaps the most novel idea is using supermarkets — Price Chopper, 72 Pullman St.; Stop & Shop, 949 Grafton St.; and Shaw’s, 68 Stafford St. — as polling locations. If those sites are adopted by the Election Commission, it is believed that Worcester would become the first community in the state to tap supermarkets for polling sites.

While some people might snicker at the idea of having people go to supermarkets to exercise their right to vote, Mr. Rushford feels it makes a lot of sense.“People aren’t going to be voting next to the deli or in the middle of an aisle,” Mr. Rushford said. “The areas that we are looking at in these stores are either off to the side in a quiet part of the store, or in the case of the Stop & Shop, in a board room on the second floor. People won’t be disturbed in these locations when they go to vote.” -- Worcester Telegram & Gazette Nick Kotsopoulos

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AP reports: The district attorney for Perry County says he will ask the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate an unusually high turnout and potential absentee ballot problems during the June 3 primary elections.

It’s the latest in a line of voting problems that have plagued the small western Alabama county for decades, including a 1985 trial in which three black leaders in Perry County were found not guilty of charges they altered absentee ballots. ...

District Attorney Michael Jackson said he expects there will be federal and state observers in Perry County for the July 15 primary runoff after a federal observer reported that a candidate hung around a polling place much of the day Tuesday and helped some voters cast ballots.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman has pointed to a number of irregularities in Perry County during Tuesday’s primaries. Chapman said there are 8,361 registered voters in the county, and 4,207 votes cast, which means 50.3 percent of eligible voters would have gone to the polls. That gives Perry County a turnout that nearly triples the rate in counties like Marengo, where about 17.7 percent of voters cast ballots. -- Perry County district attorney seeks federal probe of voting problems | TuscaloosaNews.com

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The Mobile Press-Register reports on election-day problems: Mobile County election officials said they would in the future put extra emphasis on giving voters the correct ballots after a problem at a voting precinct Tuesday.

At the First Independent Methodist Church on Halls Mill Road, election workers may not have given the right ballot to as many as 44 people who voted in the Democratic primary, Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis said.

The church is in a split precinct, meaning voters there live in different school board districts, for example. -- Officials will try to correct voting error- al.com

After learning of ballot problems at two precincts, Baldwin County Republican Party leaders will meet soon to decide whether to redo voting for the entire school board District 5 race or just at those polling sites, the local GOP chairman said Wednesday.

Probate Judge Adrian Johns said 142 total Republican voters in the Foley Civic Center and Magnolia Springs Wesleyan Church polling places didn't receive the ballot with that race on it. That includes 55 voters at precinct No. 36 in Magnolia Springs and 87 voters at precinct No. 38 in Foley, he said.

Because that is more than the 65-vote margin of victory by Angie Swiger over incumbent Margaret Long, some or all of the voting should take place again, said county Re publican Party Chairman Don McGriff. -- School board race likely headed for redo

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The Birmingham News reports: The Alabama attorney general s office has seized Perry County voting records related to Tuesday s election.

Attorney General Troy King said in a press release that the action was taken because of allegations of improprieties in Tuesday s election.

Subpoenas served on Circuit Clerk Mary Cosby Moore, Sheriff James Hood and Probate Judge Eldora Anderson sought any and all records regarding: June 3, 2008 election, including, but not limited to, applications for absentee ballots, poll list, identification accompanying absentee ballots, affidavits accompanying absentee ballots, record of elections, ballot accounting sheets, sign in sheet from each polling place, and clerk s book for each polling place. -- State AG s office seizes Perry voting records- al.com

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WSFA-TV reports: Concern is building over what may have happened at some polls in Perry county during Tuesday s primary vote. As we reported, a federal observer notified the state that a candidate allegedly violated state law by helping people vote and by being too close to a polling site. Now, an investigation is underway. ...

That s why Jackson has asked the F.B.I. to investigate the latest allegation. Perry County Probate Judge Eldora Anderson explained how it all started. The federal observer asked a voter can I watch you and the voter said yes. The situation escalated at this voting place, the Armory, when county commission candidate Albert Turner allegedly told the federal observer to back off. Turner says The federal observer doesn t have a right to infringe on the rights of the voter. The voter has a right to vote in private.

But, there are also complaints from some citizen observers. They say Turner transported people to and from the polls and even voted for them. Turner says he has done nothing wrong. That voter asked me to carry them to the polls. Asked me to assist them while they were voting. After I completed their request, I left. I had a right to assist voters. They asked for my assistance. Nothing in the law against that.

However, Perry County voter Annette Goree says there is something wrong with that. Idon t think a candidate should, if you re running for a position I don t think you should pick up anybody and bring them to the polls because you have time to persuade them before you get there. -- WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |Decision 2008: Alleged Voter Irregularities in Perry County

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The Birmingham News reports: A federal observer from the U.S. Department of Justice reported potential violations of election law in Perry County to the Alabama secretary of state Tuesday afternoon.

The observer reported that one candidate was loitering in the polling place throughout the day and appeared to be telling people how to vote. State law prohibits campaigning closer than 30 feet from the entrance of a polling place.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman said she called the Perry County sheriff and County Commission to report the problems. Perry County Sheriff James Hood said he went to the voting LOCATION to look and saw nothing unusual.

She may be referring to some person going in with people to assist them to vote, he said, but I don t consider that loitering. -- Poll problems reported in Perry County - Breaking News from The Birmingham News - al.com

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Scotland on Sunday reports: THE expert appointed to investigate last year s Scottish Parliament election fiasco has said some MSPs may have no right to sit at Holyrood.

Elections watchdog Ron Gould revealed he is not comfortable with the view that all 129 MSPs elected last year actually received more votes than their opponents. He blames the farce in which more than 140,000 ballots were spoiled.

Gould s astonishing comments last night threw a cloud of uncertainty over the Scottish Parliament s integrity, and over the SNP s historic victory.

Last May, First Minister Alex Salmond won power on the back of a one seat victory over Labour. One constituency, Cunninghame North, was won with a majority of just 49. It later emerged that 1,015 votes had been spoilt. In other seats the spoiled papers outweighed the winner s majority, suggesting different results could have emerged if they had been counted. -- Wrong MSPs elected in poll fiasco - Scotland on Sunday

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AP reports: The Texas Democratic Party was sued Friday by Latino advocacy groups that contend the complicated primary and caucus system used in the March 4 presidential primary unfairly diluted Latino votes.

The League of United Latin American Citizens of Texas and the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston sued in federal court, arguing the party failed to seek clearance required by the U.S. Justice Department for the so-called Texas Two Step. The groups also argue the system effectively discriminates against Latino voters by giving them fewer delegates.

Texas Democrats distribute the state s 193 delegates using both a primary election and a caucus, but the distribution favors state Senate districts that had high voter turnout in the last presidential and gubernatorial elections.

In the March 4 election, that meant predominantly Hispanic districts, where turnout was low in 2004 and 2006, got fewer delegates than others, particularly urban, predominantly black districts. Latino districts favored Hillary Clinton; black districts favored Barack Obama. -- LULAC sued Texas Democratic Party over primary delegates - El Paso Times

Note: If anyone has a copy of the complaint, email it to me. The complaint may be downloaded here. Thanks to Jose Garza for responding to my request.

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PolitickerMD reports: Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) both expressed support today for Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to bypass a special primary election and hold a special general election in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District.

Leggett’s spokesman Patrick Lacefield said, “He’s in support of Governor O’Malley’s proposal.”

Stephanie Lundberg, Hoyer’s press secretary, told PolitickerMD.com, “Congressman Hoyer believes there is potential for this proposal to have the dual positives of seating a new representative in the current Congress and saving on the additional expense of a special primary election.” ...

O’Malley will ask the General Assembly to amend the state code or grant a special order allowing for the special general election to be held without the primary.

The governor’s decision came less than a week after Rep. Al Wynn (D-Mitchellville) announced that he would resign in June, leaving the House of Representatives seven months before the end of his term. -- Leggett and Hoyer express confidence in 4th District special election proposal | Politicker MD

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The National Law Journal reports: Third-party candidates take note for the upcoming presidential election: The First Amendment protects vote-swapping arrangements.

The short-circuited campaign in 2000 to arrange vote trading between supporters of presidential candidates Al Gore and Ralph Nader died when California election officials threatened the online sites with vote buying charges.

A federal appeals court back in December said California's action violated the free speech rights of people who wanted to swap votes. On Thursday the full court refused to back off that position, over the objection of three conservative judges, Porter v. Bowen, 06-55517.

Judge Andrew Kleinfeld of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called the practice vote buying plain and simple, and thus illegal. But only two other judges joined his dissent from the full court's denial of en banc reconsideration March 13. It takes 14 votes to win reconsideration. -- Law.com - Vote-Swapping Arrangements Protected by First Amendment

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Ron Elving reports on NPR.org: Hillary Clinton has called her primary victories this week stunning, but their contribution to her delegate total continues to dwindle.

Senator Clinton won the Ohio primary with a healthy margin and squeaked past 50 percent in the Texas primary. She went on TV as the shiny new star of the 2008 campaign, the belle of the ball once again. All the glitter seemed legit at the time. She had cleared a high bar set by no less an authority than Bill Clinton himself, who said she had to win both of the big states on March 4 or it was lights out. ...

And now it appears that even her net gain of 15 on the day may be cut nearly in half.

Because in Texas, one third of the 193 delegates at stake this week were not awarded by the primary but by the caucuses held after the polls were closed. A record 4 million voters showed up for the primary, and a record 1.1 million also stayed for the caucuses at more than 8,000 sites around the Lone Star state. And in these caucuses, Obama won handily. -- NPR: Watching Washington

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: How secret was your ballot Tuesday?

Well, that depends.

Many Cuyahoga County voters complained their privacy was compromised as they turned in their ballots. Many voters had no way to shield the filled-out ballot from spying eyes, whether they were poll workers or other voters in line.

"My ballot was exposed for the 20 feet I carried it back to the precinct table, easily read by the poll worker who removed the receipt, and easily seen, or even photographed by a cell phone camera, by others," said Charles Hoppel of Broadview Heights, who said his wife filed a complaint with poll workers. ...

Ballots can be easily shielded by popping them into a sleeve that hides the markings. But that differed widely from polling place to polling place. Some voters received sleeves with their ballots. Others had to ask for them. Others simply uneasily lined up without them. -- Cuyahoga County voters complain ballot secrecy was compromised - cleveland.com

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The New York Times reports: A federal judge in Ohio granted a request late Tuesday from Senator Barack Obama’s campaign to extend the voting hours in 21 precincts in Cleveland by an extra 90 minutes because of a lack of paper ballots.

But because the order arrived after the polls had already closed, election officials were only able to reopen 10 polling stations, according to the Ohio secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner. That resulted in five additional votes being cast, Ms. Brunner said.

After a recent state review of touch-screen machines that raised concern about them, paper ballots were made available at all precincts for those voters who wanted to use them. Many more voters took advantage of the option than officials had predicted. The shortages of ballots were also caused by an unusually heavy turnout, officials said.

The federal judge, Solomon Oliver, denied a similar request for other precincts in Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, and for all precincts in Franklin County, where the capital, Columbus, is located. -- Ballot Shortages Plague Ohio Election Amid Unusually Heavy Primary Turnout

The Gerken test is explained here.

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The Trail blog of the Washington Post reports: Apparently the adage "whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" doesn't apply to politics.

Tensions between the Obama and Clinton campaigns escalated today when officials traded charges about conduct on the ground during the Nevada caucuses Saturday.

Aides for Sen. Barack Obama, who lost the first-in-the-West contest, announced they would ask the state Democratic Party to review reports that Clinton caucus organizers had sought to block entry to certain sites a half hour before the official deadline, as outlined in a Clinton campaign caucus manual.

The Clinton campaign fired back that it was considering its own legal options in response to a barrage of voter intimidation complaints about Obama tactics. -- After Nevada Caucuses, Charges of Foul Play | The Trail | washingtonpost.com

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The Washington Post reports: A federal judge on Thursday refused to shut down nine casino-based sites for Saturday's caucuses, delivering a victory to Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in what has become an increasingly bitter Democratic contest here.

U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan rejected the argument that conducting some of the caucuses in casinos would give Obama an unfair advantage because he has been endorsed by the state culinary workers union, which employs thousands of casino workers. Siding with lawyers for the Democratic National Committee, he said federal law "recognizes the parties have the right to determine how to apportion delegates."

The DNC, working with Nevada Democratic officials, approved the at-large precincts last summer to accommodate people who will be working when the hour-long caucuses are held at noon on Saturday. Any shift worker employed within a 2.5-mile radius of the Strip is allowed to participate, but those sites are expected to be dominated by culinary workers, many of whom are Latino. State party officials estimate that casino caucusgoers could account for as much as 10 percent of the total turnout.

The lawsuit, brought by a state teachers' union that has endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), led to a nasty dispute between her campaign and Obama's, escalating tensions just days after the two tried to defuse a racially tinged dispute. -- Judge Allows Casino Sites for Nevada Caucuses

There is no written order yet. The plaintiffs' brief is here. The defendants' brief is here.

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AP reports: A last-minute federal court battle over caucus rules demonstrates just how important a tight three-way Democratic presidential contest in Nevada has become in the battle for momentum headed into Super Tuesday's votes.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are in a statistical dead heat in polling here before Saturday's caucuses. And Nevada's sizable blocs of Hispanic, union and urban voters could provide an indicator of where the race is headed on Feb. 5, when hundreds of delegates will be awarded in states with significant minority populations. ...

At issue in a federal court hearing Thursday is whether Democratic caucuses will be held in nine casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. The special locations were designed to make it easier for housekeepers, waitresses and bellhops in the state's biggest industry to caucus at midday near their jobs rather than returning home to neighborhood precincts.

The rules were unanimously approved by the state Democratic party last March and ratified by the Democratic National Committee in August.

But last Friday, six Democrats and a teachers union, which has ties to the Clinton campaign, sued to shut the sites on grounds they allocate too many delegates to one group. Of roughly 10,000 delegates to Nevada's presidential nominating convention, more than 700 could be selected at casino caucuses, depending upon turnout, which could make them more valuable than some sparsely populated Nevada counties, the lawsuit said. Four plaintiffs are on the committee that approved the sites. -- Court Case Could Alter Nev. Outcome - Ap - Headlines - The Columbus Telegram - Columbus, Nebraska's Community Newspaper

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The Birmingham News reports: Two people might be able to stake a claim to the Jefferson County Commission's District 1 seat after an election scheduled Feb. 5 if a three-judge panel doesn't intervene, attorneys said after a federal court hearing here Tuesday.

But Ken Wallis, Gov. Bob Riley's legal adviser, warned that the District 1 seat might be vacant for several months if the panel does get involved.

The comments came after attorneys gave arguments on whether the judges should void Riley's appointment of George Bowman to the commission. Riley appointed Bowman on Nov. 21 to replace Larry Langford, who left the seat to become mayor of Birmingham. But the Jefferson County Election Commission in October had scheduled a special election to fill the seat.

Fred Plump of Fairfield filed suit saying Riley lacked the authority to appoint Bowman. He's asking the judges for a preliminary injunction that would remove Bowman from office and prohibit Riley from interfering with the Feb. 5 election, in which both men are running. -- Flap over filling Jefferson County Commission seat could result in 2 commissioners or none- al.com

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The Detroit News reports: Fears of a large crossover vote deciding the contentious Republican primary didn't materialize.

The electorate in the GOP contest was predominantly Republican, about one-quarter independent and less than 10 percent Democratic, according to National Election Pool exit polling.

Arizona Sen. John McCain captured about half of the Democratic vote and one-third of the independents, but there weren't enough of them to overcome Mitt Romney's dominance among Republican voters. -- Romney did well in most GOP demographic categories

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The Clarion-Ledger reports: A Hinds County Circuit judge ruled today that Gov. Haley Barbour exceeded his constitutional authority by setting the special election to replace former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott for November. ...

DeLaughter voided Barbour's proclamation that scheduled the election for Nov. 4, 2008.

In his order, DeLaughter said the election should be held "within 90 days of the governor's Dec. 20, 2007 proclamation of writ of election...on or before March 19, 2008. -- Judge: Special election should be within 90 days | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger

Hat tip, as always, to Old Southwest.

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The assignment for today is to read the following two posts and write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the efforts to get "crossover voters" in the two primaries.

Adam B writes on Daily Kos:
Well, it seems like our site's Inspector Javert Clouseau is back, and John Bambenek has really got us on the ropes now:

Yesterday, I filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General against Daily Kos' blogger Markos Moulitsas, requesting an investigation into whether Moulitsas is encouraging voter fraud in next week's Michigan GOP primary.

The idea of the freedom to vote is part of the bedrock foundation of this nation. Vote fraud is not a new concept; likely it reaches back even to the time of the founders. However, once vote fraud is discovered, it should be prosecuted aggressively like all flagrant violations of the law. Daily Kos' call, under the direction of Markos Moulitsas himself, for a conspiracy to commit massive vote fraud during the Michigan primaries may be one of those serious attempts to circumvent election law.

Big Tent Democrat writes on TalkLeft: An Obama Nevada precinct captain (Taylor Marsh has a copy of the flier) is circulating a flier with the following language:

You can be a Democrat for one day. Vote for Obama and then return to your voting status as you chose [sic].

Everyone regardless of party is welcome to be a Democrat for one day and vote. Republicans, Independents, Everyone, you can make THE difference. If you think a Democrat will win in November and you don't want Hillary you can come to the Democratic Caucus and vote for Obama.

One possible answer is that Kos is pushing a raid on the other party ... not that there's anything wrong for that, but Obama is trying to get independents and perhaps Republicans to come into the Democratic Party for a day.

Another answer is that Obama is trying to get people who support him sincerely into the Democratic Party. You know, give them a free sample and hope they will become steady customers. Conversely, Kos might be viewed as low-down skunk for trying to get insincere people to make mischief in the GOP.

What's your view?

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The Caucus blog of the New York Times reports: At a rally this afternoon, Senator Barack Obama questioned the timing and legitimacy of a lawsuit that had been filed here seeking to prevent caucuses from being held Saturday in nine casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Are we going to let a bunch of lawyers try to prevent us from bringing about change in America?” Mr. Obama said, speaking to members of the Culinary workers union, which has endorsed his candidacy.

A federal judge is expected to rule this week on a lawsuit filed against the Nevada Democratic Party by the state teachers’ union, which believes that nine “at-large” caucus locations at casinos provide an unfair advantage to Mr. Obama. Why? Culinary union members and other shift-workers who are on the job Saturday will be allowed to take an hour break to caucus near their workplace in a hotel ballroom, rather than return to their home precincts. -- Obama Questions Nevada Caucus Lawsuit

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The New York Times reports: Nevada’s state teachers union and six Las Vegas area residents filed a lawsuit late Friday that could make it harder for many members of the state’s huge hotel workers union to vote in the hotly contested Jan. 19 Democratic caucus in Nevada.

The 13-page lawsuit in federal district court here comes two days after the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Nevada endorsed Senator Barack Obama, a blow to Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Obama addressed the Culinary Union at their hall earlier Friday.

The lawsuit argues that the Nevada Democratic Party’s decision, decided late last year, to create at-large precincts inside nine Las Vegas resorts on caucus day violates the state’s election laws and creates a system in which voters at the at-large precincts can elect more delegates than voters at other precincts. The lawsuit employs a complex mathematical formula to show that voters at the other 1,754 precincts would have less influence with their votes. -- Teachers Sue to Block Hotel Workers’ Union Vote in Nevada Caucus

Download the complaint here.

Update: The Washington Post has a longer article on the politics behind the suit.

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The Washington Post reports: Training for the Iowa caucuses combines several of the miseries of adolescence, like studying for a driver's license and an algebra test and the SAT -- only this time in the company of cheerful, middle-aged Iowans in a senior citizens home. ...

Much has been written about the Democratic caucuses and how they work -- how they're not like the primaries of other states, how you have to show up and stand in a corner for your candidate and then maybe stand in another corner if your candidate isn't "viable" (meaning, said candidate doesn't have at least 15 percent support among people in the room). And how each of the 1,781 precincts has a different number of delegates to award, and the number of delegates a candidate gets is proportional to the number of people who show up at a high school gym on a freezing night in January to stand in corners.

Hence the crazy math.

And we haven't even gotten to the various envelopes. And the filling in of bubbles. And the pink and yellow forms. And the fact that, once in a while, there's a tie, so folks have to toss a coin. -- Caucus Math 101: Bring a Calculator - washingtonpost.com

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The New York Times reports: For Americans abroad, who often feel underrepresented, overlooked and little appreciated in the United States, the approach of the 2008 elections has brought some grounds for hope that this time their votes have a better chance of counting.

Last month, the nonpartisan Overseas Vote Foundation, or O.V.F., unveiled a revamped voter-assistance Web site that has drawn wide praise (www.overseasvotefoundation.org).

Dorothy van Schooneveld, of American Citizens Abroad, said the new software made it “rapid, simple and almost foolproof to register” from abroad.

Members of a new Americans Abroad caucus in Congress, which has tripled in size since its formation last spring, have introduced two bills aimed at simplifying voter registration, expanding voter education, and ensuring that expatriates’ ballots are counted. -- U.S. Takes Steps to Simplify Voting From Abroad

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The Birmingham News reports: A Fairfield man sued Gov. Bob Riley on Friday, claiming the governor does not have the authority to appoint a replacement to the Jefferson County Commission for Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.

The suit, filed in Montgomery's federal court on behalf of Fred Plump, said Riley is attempting to enforce election procedures that have not been approved by the Justice Department under the federal Voting Rights Act. The suit seeks to block Riley from filling the District 1 commission seat, a heavily Democratic district that stretches from Fairfield north to Fultondale and east to Roebuck.

The seat became vacant Tuesday when Langford, the District 1 commissioner, took office at City Hall.

Todd Stacy, a spokesman for the governor's office, said Friday night the office had not seen the lawsuit, but the law clearly says that the governor must appoint a replacement. -- Fairfield man files lawsuit over Gov. Bob Riley's authority to fill Jefferson County Commission seat- al.com

Disclosure: Jim Blacksher and I represent the plaintiff in this suit.

A copy of the complaint is here: Download file

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The Birmingham News reports: The Jefferson County Election Commission on Tuesday officially called a Feb. 5 special election to fill the District 1 seat on the County Commission.

The Election Commission, made up of Probate Judge Alan King, Sheriff Mike Hale and Circuit Clerk Anne Marie Adams, called the election hours after Larry Langford resigned his County Commission post to become Birmingham mayor.

The officials set the election to coincide with Alabama s presidential primary and scheduled a runoff, if necessary, for Feb. 26. ...

However, Gov. Bob Riley maintains he has authority to fill the seat. Riley's staff says county election officials are misinterpreting the 2004 act, and that the 1977 law providing for elections to fill vacancies in Jefferson County was rendered void by the 2004 law. -- Jefferson County Commission calls special election to fill the District 1 seat vacated by Larry Langford- al.com

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Has America Outgrown the Caucus? Some Thoughts on Reshaping the Nomination Contest by Tova Andrea Wang, The Century Foundation, 10/23/2007 In this new issue brief, Tova Andrea Wang discusses caucuses: Because of their exclusionary nature, they go against some of the core values we express when we talk about voting rights, such as the fundamental nature of the right, equality of opportunity to participate in the process, and fair access to the ballot. -- http://www.reformelections.org/

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Demos announces:
The specter of voter fraud unfortunately continues to dominate and distort much of the national debate about fair elections. As an antidote to distorted public discussion, Senior Demos Fellow Lorraine C. Minnite has released An Analysis of Voter Fraud in the United States, adapted and updated from Securing the Vote, released in 2003. The voter fraud discussion has taken on new proportions over the past four years, looming over state and federal debates on voter identification and election reform, the performance of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and dismissals of U.S. Attorneys. Professor Minnite's new report provides a contemporary overview of domestic voter fraud, explores the matrix of state and federal laws governing the issue, and details recent instances of voter fraud in Miami, FL; Orange County, CA; and St. Louis, MO. She plans a forthcoming book on voter fraud in contemporary American elections.

The report is here.

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The Mobile Register reports: Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis on Thursday set an election schedule to fill the vacant District 1 commission seat, with party primaries taking place Aug. 28 and a general election no later than Nov. 20.

The County Commission seat, which represents the northern third of Mobile County, has been empty since May, when a panel of federal judges forced out Juan Chastang after ruling that his appointment in 2005 violated the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. July 17 to qualify. Any runoff would take place Oct. 9, with the general election following on Nov. 20. If no runoffs are needed, the general election will be held Oct. 9. -- Election planned for Mobile County Commission seat- al.com

Disclosure: I was one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the federal suit.

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The Washington Post reports: In late 2003, the first four commissioners of the newly formed, bipartisan Election Assistance Commission were given a tall order: Help states overhaul their election procedures so that the acrimony that followed the contested 2000 presidential election would not be repeated. ...

But, three years later, as it prepares for its second presidential election, the agency is facing far more serious problems: inquiries over a rash of allegations of partisan decision making.

Commissioners blame management failures and incomplete policies that have plagued the agency since the beginning. "We weren't able to develop a really strong foundation as a federal agency," said Gracia H. Hillman, the only commissioner who has been on the panel from the beginning.

Activist groups have raised questions about whether, in response to pressure from the Justice Department, the commission altered or delayed research to play down findings on sensitive topics such as voter fraud and voter identification laws that many Republican figures and appointees would have found objectionable.

"There has been increasing evidence of improper attempts to exert political pressure on the EAC to influence the agency's decisions on election-related matters," said Wendy Weiser, deputy director of the Democracy Program at the liberal Brennan Center of Justice at New York University School of Law, who has reviewed thousands of pages of the commission's internal documents.

Meanwhile, the agency's inspector general, Curtis Crider, is investigating the agency's research into voter fraud, voter intimidation and voter identification laws. -- Panel Faces Partisanship Allegations - washingtonpost.com

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The Sunday Herald reports: LABOUR MSPS have fuelled the simmering tensions with the party at Westminster by blaming Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander for the Holyrood election fiasco which disenfranchised more than 100,000 voters.

A secret report listing Labour MSPs' views on the poll debacle claimed Alexander's decision to use a single ballot paper for the parliament election was "confusing" and wrong.

It also suggested MSPs' concerns on the issue had been ignored by the wider Scottish party, which pushed ahead with its plan for one ballot paper.

The claims reveal the tensions between Labour at Holyrood and Westminster and point to the recriminations taking place behind the scenes after the party's loss to the SNP. -- The Sunday Herald - Scotland's award-winning independent newspaper

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The New York Times reports: Over the last six years, the Defense Department has spent more than $30 million trying to find an efficient way for American soldiers and civilians living abroad to vote in elections back home.

But the traditional paper ballot system for overseas voters — the one the Pentagon is trying to improve — has also had problems for years.

Typically, voters mail paper forms back and forth across continents as they try to register to vote, request a ballot and then return the ballot before the polls close. But the forms are often lost or delayed in the mail.

Voters often wait until the last moment or get confused because rules and deadlines vary state to state. Poor planning, legal challenges or technical problems often lead local election officials to send ballots abroad too late.

As a result, anywhere from a quarter to half of overseas voters fail in their attempt to vote, say voting experts at the National Defense Committee and the Overseas Vote Foundation. -- Casting Ballot From Abroad Is No Sure Bet

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The Anchorage Daily News reports: A federal lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of Native voters in the Bethel area whose primary language is Yup'ik.

The lawsuit filed by the Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska seeks to have state and regional election officials provide oral and written voter assistance to Yup'ik-speaking voters in the region.

The lawsuit wants election officials to come up with a plan to ensure that Yup'ik-speakers with limited English are able to understand and participate "in all phases of the electoral process." It would require that federal observers be on hand for elections held in the Bethel area. ...

The lawsuit says the problem extends beyond providing an official ballot for federal, state and local elections that voters can read. Officials also have failed to translate a host of other written voting materials including advertisements for voter registration, election dates, absentee voting opportunities, polling place locations and voting machine instructions. -- Yup'ik voters need more, lawsuit says

The case is Nick v. Bethel, No. 3:07-cv-00098-TMB, and a copy of the complaint is here.

Thanks to Neil Bradley, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, for bringing this to my attention.

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AP reports: The Legislature approved a bill Thursday that keeps Alabama's early presidential primary on Feb. 5, but allows residents of Mobile and Baldwin counties to vote almost a week early to avoid a conflict with the Mardi Gras holiday.

The Legislature decided last year to move the state's presidential preference primary from early June to make the state more of a player in the selection of the Republican and Democratic candidates for president. But the change created a conflict because Feb. 5, 2008, is Fat Tuesday, the culmination of Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

The Senate voted 32-0 Thursday for a revised primary bill, and the House concurred 102-2. The bill will let residents of Mobile and Baldwin counties to go to the polls on Wednesday, Jan. 30 with the results sealed until Feb. 5. The bill will also allow residents of the two coastal counties to vote using absentee ballots for any reason. -- Alabama's Mardi Gras conflict resolved for presidential race

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The Scotsman reports: ONE of the world's leading election experts will head the review into the voting fiasco which marred the Scottish Parliament elections this month.

The Electoral Commission announced yesterday that Ron Gould, the former assistant chief electoral officer of Canada, would lead the investigation into the 140,000 invalid voting papers from the election on 3 May.

Mr Gould has monitored, organised and overseen elections all over the world, from the ground-breaking South African elections of 1994 to the critical Bosnian elections of 1995 and 1996.

From 1981 until his retirement in 2001, Mr Gould led and participated in more than 100 election observation missions in more than 70 countries, and advised the United Nations, the Commonwealth and governments around the world. -- Scotsman.com News - The Scottish Parliament - Election expert Gould to lead review of Holyrood poll scandal

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AP reports: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich equated bilingual education Saturday with "the language of living in a ghetto" and mocked requirements that ballots be printed in multiple languages.

"The government should quit mandating that various documents be printed in any one of 700 languages depending on who randomly shows up" to vote, said Gingrich, who is considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He made the comments in a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women.

"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual educat