electionline Weekly

Election News This Week

•     Thomas E. Perez was finally confirmed by the Senate this week to head up the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The 72-22 bipartisan vote came more than six months after President Barak Obama nominated Perez, the former Labor, Licensing and Regulation secretary for the state of Maryland. The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared his nomination in early June, but Perez was delayed by Republicans who have blocked action on a number of nominees for key Justice Department positions and federal judgeships. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican on the Judiciary committee, who voted against Perez, expressed concern that the Marylander would not be able to put aside his liberal Democratic beliefs in his new job. Sessions said he also feared that Perez, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and the highest ranking Latino in Maryland government, shared the “extreme” views of Casa de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group whose board he once headed. Maryland Senator Benjamin Cardin, who helped shepherd the nomination, said that, under Perez, the Civil Rights Division would get “back on track” after a period of abuses during the Bush years. Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have signaled their intention to reinvigorate the Civil Rights Division, whose 300 lawyers enforce laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion and national origin. They also oversee voting rights cases, which are likely to increase after next year’s census and the resulting redistricting.

•   A federal audit of the Iowa secretary of state’s office has found questionable spending totaling $2.5 million of roughly $30 million that the state’s elections division received from the federal government while Gov. Chet Culver was secretary of state. In particular, auditors questioned more than $1.2 million in spending related to a 2005 promotion to celebrate voting and milestones of voting rights. “Just because we question the cost does not mean the state owes the money back,” Curtis Crider, inspector general for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission told the Des Moines Register. Crider said Iowa officials will have the opportunity to respond to the questions before a determination is made about possible repayment. Phil Roeder, a spokesman for Culver, told the paper the state would work with the commission to answer questions and note areas where there was disagreement. “While some issues in the EAC report have already been settled, there are also several points of disagreement, and the state will continue to work with the EAC to resolve these differences,” Roeder said, referring to the Election Assistance Commission.

•   The Council of the District of Columbia gave preliminary approval to an elections reform package that would not only allow early voting and election-day registration, but would also set up a review committee to look into universal voter registration. In addition, the measure would require a verifiable paper trail and would allow 17 year olds to vote in a primary if they turn 18 by the general election. The bill would also allow 16 year olds to pre-register. Critics of Cheh’s proposal are raising concerns it could lead to voter fraud. But Cheh noted Milwaukee and several other big cities allow same-day registration. “The evidence shows same registration can improve voter participation and access,” Cheh told The Washington Post. “Let’s be very clear, there is no empirical evidence that same-day registration has any connection to fraud.”

Research and Report Summaries

electionline provides brief summaries of recent research and reports in the field of election administration. Please e-mail links to research to sgreene@pewtrusts.org.

NASS Report: Maintenance of State Voter Registration Lists: A Review of Relevant Policies and Procedures – Developed by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), September 2009: NASS summarizes the requirements of all 50 states and the District of Columbia’s for maintaining voter registration information. Four specific areas are covered: (1) new voter registration verification; (2) identification of voters who no longer reside where they are registered to vote; (3) criteria for removing names from the voter list; and, (4) processes for obtaining the names of voters who are no longer eligible to vote.

2008 Statutory Overview – The Election Assistance Commission (EAC), September 2009: As part of its biennial Election Administration Survey, the EAC has released its 2008 review of state laws related to election administration including voter registration databases, voter ID, provisional voting and polling place operations.

A Review of Academic Literature on the Effectiveness of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) – Jody Herman, Douglas R. Hess, and Margaret Groarke, Project Vote, September 2009: Project Vote provides an annotated bibliography of the NVRA, including predictions of its impact, evaluations of its impact, and other related literature.

Voting Rights in Indian Country – A Special Report of the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, September 2009: The ACLU reviews the history of Indian voting rights and how those rights were affected by the Voting Rights Act. More compliance with the Act is encouraged to allow more meaningful participation in the voting process. The report states that challenges Indian voters face can be addressed with additional voter education, improved voter registration efforts, and when necessary, litigation.

E-Voting and Identity – Second International Conference, VOTE-ID 2009, Luxembourg, September 7-8, 2009: These 11 chapters contain papers from the proceedings at the Second International Conference on E-voting and Identity. They include proposals for high-assurance voting systems, evaluations of existing systems and an assessment of public response to electronic voting.

Opinions This Week

National: Instant runoff-voting; Voter registration

Alaska: Get-out-the-vote

California:  Young voters

Florida: Voting-machine sale, II; Cost of elections

Michigan: Secretary of State

Mississippi: Voter ID

Ohio: Secretary of state

Tennessee: Voting machines, II; Ballot integrity

Utah: Voter ID

Virginia: Military and overseas voters

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Job Postings This Week

All job listings must be received by 12 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday for publication in our Thursday newsletter. Job listings are free but may be edited for length. Whenever possible, include Internet information. Please email job postings to mmoretti@electionline.org

Business Development/Sales Manager (two positions)— Scytl USA Secure Electronic Voting located in Richmond, Virginia and its parent Scytl S.A. located in Barcelona, Spain are rapidly emerging as the global leader in the development of secure electronic voting solutions for the public and private sectors.  Associates of Scytl USA enjoy an entrepreneurial setting, competitive salary, continuous development and education, career advancement opportunities, and a great team environment. Reporting directly to the Managing Director, Scytl USA, the candidates will: Build and execute company business plan for achieving revenue and pipeline objectives; identification and prospecting of new business leads, including qualification and needs assessment; build and maintain regional sales opportunity pipeline utilizing company CRM tools; presentation and positioning of Scytl USA’s solutions and services to prospective State and Local Election Administrators/Officials, and State Legislators; supporting the development of effective proposals and closing new business; adhering to Scytl USA’s selling methodology for developing sales pipeline; maintaining direct client relationships and building new business relationships; and providing market and legislative feedback internally concerning the effectiveness of Scytl’s core products and consulting services. Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or Engineering (e.g., Computer Science); proven 10+ years experience in state and local government technology sales – preferably in election related products and services; software familiarity expertise in the following technologies – Web based applications/Cryptography (SSL, PKI, digital certificates and signatures…); excellent communications skills – must have strong oral presentation experience; advanced user experience in Microsoft Office, specifically Power Point, Word and Excel; and ability to travel. Scytl USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  Please visit us at www.scytl.com to learn more about how we are revolutionizing the secure online voting environment. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to the following (email accepted): Hugh Gallagher, Managing Director; Scytl USA; 6012 Glen Abbey DR; Suite 1L; Richmond, Virginia 23059; ScytlUSA@scytl.com