Elections

September 25, 2007 -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Two East Chicago police officers charged with vote fraud in 2006 have captured the attention of Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter. Carter has filed a Motion to Intervene in the officers’ civil case against the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration.    » read more »

US Supreme Court to hear arguments on Top-Two Primary on 10/1

September 24, 2007 -- OLYMPIA — On Oct. 1, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna will argue on behalf of Washington's people before the US Supreme Court, defending Initiative 872, the “Top-Two Primary” initiative passed by about 60 percent of voters in 2004.

State of Washington, et al. v. Washington State Republican Party, et al. will be McKenna’s second argument before the US Supreme Court as Attorney General and the first case the US Supreme Court will hear for the fall term.    » read more »

September 19, 2007 - CHICAGO, IL -- Senator Barack Obama today issued the following statement on the Presidential Election Reform Act, an initiative proposed for the California ballot. This initiative would create a firewall to protect the Republican nominee from losses in other states by dividing California's electoral votes by Congressional District.

The text of the statement is below:    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today made the following statement on the failed Senate vote on voting rights for the District of Columbia. The vote to proceed to consideration of the bill failed to reach the necessary 60 votes.    » read more »

(As Prepared for Delivery)

September 18, 2007 -- "Today’s debate involves one of the most important issues in our democracy. Dr. Martin Luther King called the right to vote “civil right number one.” Yet hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in the nation’s capital have been denied an equal voice in our democracy. Citizens in the District of Columbia live in the very shadow of the Capitol Building, but they have no representative who can vote their interests within these halls. It’s long past time for us to finally correct this basic wrong.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today after the Senate Republicans blocked a debate on the D.C. Voting Rights Act:

“By blocking a debate in the Senate on D.C. voting rights, Republicans have continued to deny 600,000 U.S. citizens the right to voting representation in Congress.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today voted in support of providing the District of Columbia with a vote in the House of Representatives.

Senator Feinstein is a co-sponsor of the legislation, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007. The bill was sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Bob Bennett (R-Utah).

This afternoon, the Senate voted 57-42 in favor of a procedural motion to limit debate on the legislation. Without the necessary 60 votes, the motion was denied.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile issued the following joint statement urging passage of legislation granting DC full voting rights in the House of Representatives:    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Washington, DC--In today's New York Times, Bob Herbert takes a closer look at a Republican sponsored ballot initiative being proposed to change the way California distributes its electoral votes - a change that the GOP believes would allow them to pick up seats in California and win the White House. This initiative is just more of the GOP's "dirty electoral tricks" by the same national Republican players that funded the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Herbert says, "This crowd is no more interested in genuine electoral reform than Britney Spears is."    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- (Frankfort, KY) The Kentucky State Board of Elections (SBE) met today and re-examined voting systems from three voting system vendors: Election Systems and Software, Hart InterCivic, and Premier

Election Solutions. All three systems were recertified by a unanimous vote of the State Board upon the recommendation of the state’s voting system examiners team consisting of a county clerk, an expert in computer science, and a person who is knowledgeable in election procedures and law in Kentucky.    » read more »

September 18, 2007 -- Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo today presented his investigative report to the State Board of Elections and Secretary of State Trey Grayson calling for improved testing and security upgrades for Kentucky’s electronic voting systems.

The report’s key findings include the following:

* Cooperation between state officials is essential to restore public confidence in voting systems.
* Kentucky’s electronic voting systems suffer from serious security vulnerabilities, according to independent researchers in Florida and California.    » read more »

Electorate remains polarized on approach to foreign affairs

05 September 2007 -- Washington -- U.S. foreign policy is on the minds of enough American voters that a candidate’s positions on how he or she would work with the international community can be the deciding factor in an election. The growing importance of foreign policy issues also comes at a time when the American electorate is the most polarized in recent history on how to interact with the world.    » read more »

September 5, 2007 -- With just under one year to go before Republicans nominate their next standard-bearer at the GOP convention in Minneapolis, and with the current crop of Republican presidential candidates preparing to debate in New Hampshire tonight, a new letter-writing campaign is highlighting the only Republican presidential candidate who represents the values and priorities of the American people: None of the Above.    » read more »

September 5, 2007 -- To ensure an orderly introduction of the state's voter ID law, Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today released instructional materials to Michigan's election officials designed to aid them with the implementation of the requirement.

Beginning with the Nov. 6 election, voters will be asked to show a photo ID - or sign a form stating that they don't have one - before receiving a ballot. The requirements are the result of a 1996 law recently determined to be enforceable by the Michigan Supreme Court.    » read more »

September 4, 2007 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has signed into law Senate Bill 624 that establishes January 15, 2008 as the date for a statewide presidential primary for the 2008 presidential election cycle. The bill passed with bipartisan majorities in both the state house and state senate and is supported by leaders from both state parties. It was filed with the Office of the Great Seal this morning, has immediate effect, and is now Public Act 52 of 2007.

Granholm said she expects every credible candidate to appear on the ballot in Michigan.    » read more »