electionline Weekly

Election News This Week

According to Main Justice, vveteran Civil Rights Division attorney Christopher Coates has stepped down as chief of the Voting Section. There was no official announcement of the personnel change. Taking over for Coates in an acting role is Chris Herren, a deputy chief of the section, according to the Web site. Coates did not respond to an email seeking comment. Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said Coates requested an 18-month detail to the U.S. Attorney’s office in South Carolina, where he’ll start in January. Coates had been Voting Section chief since January 2008. He replaced John Tanner, who resigned in December 2007 following comments he made about voter identification laws that some lawmakers perceived as racist.

A three-judge panel has ruled that Dallas County election officials violated federal law when they did not inform the Department of Justice about changes in the way straight-party votes are counted on electronic voting machines. The judges determined that the county did not get proper approval from the Department of Justice to use the county’s current machines. They granted an injunction requested by the Texas Democratic Party to halt use of the machines in Dallas until they get Justice Department clearance. The Texas Democratic Party sued Dallas County, claiming that election officials here failed to notify Justice Department officials about “emphasis” votes that don’t get counted when people vote straight-party on electronic machines 

Despite protests from county clerks and an impending lawsuit, an Illinois law mandating that voting machines “beep” when an undervote is recorded is set to go into effect on January 1. Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden filed a lawsuit against the Illinois State Board of Elections, claiming that the law violates voters’ privacy and is therefore unconstitutional.  Shelden’s injunction to delay the new law until after the February elections was denied in the Champaign County Circuit Court. The lawsuit is still pending. Shelden said he hopes to bring the case forward in March and get the undervoting mandate abolished. “My case will be even stronger in March, because then we’ll have voters who have already had bad experiences with the system. Unfortunately they will also already have lost their right to privacy,” Shelden said. In the Board of Election’s opposition to Shelden’s injunction, their counsel, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, writes: “While plaintiff attempts to suggest to the court that there is a fundamental right to a secret ballot, no such right exists.”

After an angry public meeting about a proposal to close 13 polling sites in Missoula County, the county is now proposing a plan that would only close eight polling locations and would move another from the courthouse to a public library. A special meeting has been called for January 7 to discuss the new proposal. The county took the initial steps to close 13 sites to help save money. The original proposal would have decreased the number of election judges needed from 467 to 281. The new proposal will decrease the original number to 318. “It’s just not sustainable as it is,” Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss told the Missoulian. “We know our taxable value is two years behind. It’s low this year, but it’ll be worse the next two years, even if the economy is coming up. We’re going to be looking at all departments for ways to save money.”

Opinions This Week

Florida: Voter registration; Voting machine sale, II; Hillsborough County

Georgia: Paper trail; Karen Handel

Indiana: Elections schedule

Montana: Polling place consolidation

New York: New voting system

Ohio: Elections integrity

Oregon: Voter registration

Virginia: Ex-felon voting rights

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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

Officer, Campaigns — Pew Center on the States, Washington, D.C.: Working closely with the directors of GPP, MVW and PSPP and other PCS colleagues (including the Research & Development unit and Communications staff), the officer will be responsible for ensuring that state campaigns within PCS’s government performance unit are well-planned, strategic and effectively implemented. Responsibilities: Under the supervision of the senior officer, the officer will: take responsibility for identifying, evaluating and implementing strategic state issue campaigns and initiatives; Identify, develop and maintain strong collegial relationships with partners, grantees, contractors and other lead organizations and constituencies in the issue area; identify and manage national and state partners to advance the goals of the campaigns. Where appropriate, develop plans and materials to integrate state and national partners in the performance unit and PCS’ work; propose and assess plans for public opinion research, communication strategies and lobbying and public education efforts. As needed, identify and vet consultants and firms, negotiate contracts and letters of agreement that clearly achieve program objective and are cost effective and manage ongoing relationships; contribute to the drafting of selected press releases, op-eds, memos and speeches; work with PCS and PCT Communications staff on messaging and media strategy to help ensure that communication and outreach are well-designed components of the campaigns and serve broader institutional goals; help structure and manage relations with partners such as the National Conference of State Legislatures, National Governors Association. Requirements: A minimum of 8 years of experience in the public policy arena with a working knowledge of effective issue advocacy strategies at the federal and state level. Experience implementing campaign tactics including communications, coalition building and grassroots, legislative advocacy, and opinion and/or policy research is required. Experience working with policy makers, researchers, advocates and other stakeholders is preferred. Bachelor’s degree required with an advanced degree in public policy or other relevant field preferred. For the complete job listing and to apply, please visit the Pew Web site.