December 22, 2011
I. In Focus This Week
:10pt;”>“Off-year” provides many headlines in build-up to 2012
Just because 2011 was an “off-year” for elections doesn’t mean lawmakers and elections officials sat back and enjoyed the lull.
From Alabama to Wyoming and everywhere in between, lawmakers and elections officials spent 2011 passing new election reform legislation, implementing new laws and ramping up for the 2012 election cycle. And in between all of that, many states held local elections well.
With the final days of the year upon us, we’ll take a look back at some of the biggest stories of 2011. And like most year-end review stories, this in no way captures all the work that went into elections in 2011.
:justify;”>Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin joined Indiana and Georgia in being the only states to exclusively require government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot.
Texas — which are both still awaiting preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice for their laws — the passage of voter ID laws capped years of contentious debate in their respective state houses that included one ill Texas member having his bed moved into the state house so he could vote against the measure and in South Carolina, Democratic Senators walked out at one point in time.
Several civil rights groups have sued over Wisconsin’s voter ID law and in Tennessee the governor recently expressed reservations over the new law.
In all the new voter photo ID states there have been reports of residents having difficulty in getting the required ID and state departments of motor vehicles offering additional service hours to fulfill the need.
With the pending lawsuits and several states pre-filing voter ID legislation for their upcoming sessions, voter ID looks to be one of the top news stories of 2012 as well.
House Bill 194 that cuts early voting from 35 days prior to the election to 21 days in person and 17 by mail. It also limits in-person early voting by not permitting voting on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and the three days prior to the election.
Although approved by the legislature and signed by the governor, a people’s initiative to block the law prevents it from being implemented until after November 2012 should the initiative fail.
Maine was the first state to implement same-day registration almost forty years ago. In 2011, citing concerns of vote fraud the state legislature approved L.D. 1376 which eliminated same-day registration and banned absentee voting in the two business days before an election. The law was eventually repealed by voters (see below).
Like Ohio and Maine, Florida’s Republican-lead legislature overwhelmingly approved an election reform package that is currently the subject of a lawsuit and being reviewed by the Department of Justice.
The legislation HB 1355 and SB 2086 limits the number of days residents may vote, prohibits voters from changing their name and/or address at the polls on election day and created strict limitations for third-party voter registrations that have already gotten some school teachers in trouble.
Maine and Ohio put thousands of signatures on petitions to get new state voting laws on the ballot. In Ohio the ballot question will appear on the November 2012 ballot and in Maine the move to reinstate same-day registration was on the November 2011 ballot where it was approved by a large margin.
Fed up with the status quo, voters across the country worked to recall elected officials in dozens of states and counties. The recall process, especially in Wisconsin, proved challenging for election officials as well as costly, however based on current media reports appears set to be popular well into 2012.
MOVE Act. For most states and the District the procedure involved a relatively quick legislative fix, but the process is ongoing in New York where a judge recently announced that he would rule sometime in January 2012 on when the state’s primary would be held because he did not trust the state legislators to get the work done.
For Ohio and Texas the issue was redistricting. Last week legislators in Ohio struck a deal to hold one primary on March 3 instead of two separate primaries. And with county elections officials growing increasingly concerned about planning, this week a deal was reached to hold Texas’ primaries on April 6.
And in South Carolina it wasn’t so much when the presidential primary would be, but how the counties were going to pay for it. Several counties went to court in an effort to not hold the primary altogether. However a judge ruled that they must hold the primary. The state GOP had pledged to help cover costs to counties that the state did not, but recently indicated they would not be able to help. The state estimates it will coast $1.5 million to hold the primary and the state only has just offer $1 million available. It remains unclear where the additional money will come from.
Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Vermont.
In Kentucky, former Secretary of State Trey Grayson resigned at the beginning of the year to work with Kennedy School of Government and Elaine Walker was appointed to fulfill his term. Walker did not have the easiest of times in office. She lost the Democratic primary and was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Long-time Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne stepped down in order to seek higher office and deputy Tom Schedler was appointed on an interim basis to fulfill the term. Schedler successfully sought election to the seat in November. He will officially fulfill the remainder of Dardenne’s term as well as serve for four additional years.
Many of the new secretaries of state have been in the news for a variety of reasons. Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White will face trial on federal voter fraud charges in January 2012, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has butted heads on several occasions with county clerks and in Kansas, Secretary of State Kobach has been making a name for himself on the national level on immigration issues.
Also on the secretary of state front, two stalwarts of the elections business announced plans that they do not intend to run for re-election in 2012. Three-term Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed announced that he will retire at the end of his term in January 2012.
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced in late September that she would not seek a third term in office. She has yet to indicate what her next steps will be other than a return to private life.
In Texas, long-time Elections Director Ann McGeehan has moved on after serving for early a quarter of a century and 13 different secretaries of state.
Next week:The List:What’s in and out for 2012.
II. Election News This Week
- A Hamilton County, Ind. Judge denied Secretary of State Charlie White’s motion to dismiss seven felony charges filed against White earlier this year. Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation said in an order Monday that he found “no sufficient basis for the dismissal of the indictments.” White’s attorney, former Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, said in an email to the Indianapolis Star that he and White are “disappointed but respect the court’s ruling.” Brizzi said they have not decided whether to appeal. White is accused of, among other things, committing voter fraud. The hearing is set for Jan. 30.
- Turnout for San Francisco’s recent November election hovered around 40 percent except in one area of town where the turnout was 79 percent. That area of town? The county jail. According to the San Francisco Appeal, a total of 315 vote-by-mail ballots were requested by jail inmates, who returned 248 completed ballots to the Department of Elections. That’s slightly less than the 500 ballots requested for the 2008 presidential election, but still a better showing than any voting precinct citywide, according to voting records. Nicholas Gregoratos who oversees the voting program for the county jail speculated about the high turnout despite being an “off-year” election was because both the district attorney and sheriff were on the ballot. “Some guys said, ‘Forget [elected District Attorney George] Gascón, he put me away.’ Other guys said, ‘He gave me a good deal — I’m going to vote for him.'”
- Personnel News:Southampton County, Va. Registrar Leona Davis will retire on Dec. 31. Davis began working part-time in the registrar’s office in 1985 and was appointed registrar in 1995. After more than four decades, Dyer County, Tenn. Administrator of Elections Jane Heathcott will retire at the end of the year. Heathcott has served under five state election coordinators, five secretaries of state and nine governors and has outlasted many of her colleagues across the state who were victims to the political mood at the time. Wethersfield, Conn. Registrars Pam Rapacz and Norma Bielenda are both set to retire on Dec. 31. The two oversaw the replacement of the town’s lever voting machines that had been in use since the late 1800s. Patti Dubois, city clerk for Bangor, Maine is also stepping down as the year comes to an end. But Dubois won’t be leaving the elections field behind, she will take the role of Waterville city clerk.
III. Research and Report Summaries:10pt; font-family:Arial;”>electionline provides brief summaries of recent research and reports in the field of election administration. Please e-mail links to research to :10pt; font-family:Arial;”>.
Legislative Action Bulletin – The National Conference of State Legislatures, Dec. 19, 2011:Looking back at 2011 state legislative sessions, this issue wraps up the year with coverage of laws passed related to voter ID, moving primary dates, implementing the MOVE Act, vote centers and the National Popular Vote.
From Citizenship to Voting:Improving Registration for New Americans
– Tova Andrea Wang and Youjin b. Kim, Demos, December 2011:The report describes significantly lower voter participation rates of naturalized American citizens compared with native-born citizens and cites the voter registration process as the biggest barrier to voting for naturalized Americans.
IV. Opinions
National:Voter ID, II, III; Electoral College; Voting rights; Absentee voting; HAVA
California:Secretary of state; Ranked-choice voting, II; Voting rights
Colorado:Voting rights
Florida:Election reform law, II, III
Illinois:Voter ID; Election website
Indiana:Secretary of state, II
Maryland:Voter fraud
Massachusetts:Path to ballot box
Michigan:Election reform
New Jersey:School elections
New York:Redistricting prisoners; Voting laws; Primary date; Voting rights
North Carolina:Voter ID
Ohio:Voting rights
Oklahoma:New voting machines
Oregon:Post office closings
Pennsylvania:Voter fraud; Voter ID
South Carolina:Primary costs
Texas:Voter ID, II; Attorney General, II, III; 2012 primary, II
Wisconsin:Voter ID; Government Accountability Board, II, III, IV, V
**Some sites may require registration.
V. Job Openings
electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.org. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.
Deputy City Clerk, City of Ann Arbor, Mich. —manages the election warehouse operations, including directing and assigning work to temporary election staff. Testing and preparing all voting equipment for use in city, state and federal elections. Serves as City FOIA Coordinator, managing the Freedom of Information Act process and preparing all responses on behalf of the City. Assisting the City Clerk with all other management duties in the City Clerk’s Office, including acting as City Clerk in his/her absence. Qualifications:Bachelor’s degree in public administration, political science, or a related field; experience in county or municipal election administration:at least four years, inclusive of administration of a national election; one year supervisory experience (preferred); an equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. Salary:$48,000-$65,000. Application:For more information and to apply, click here.
Election Training Coordinator, D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics — coordinates recruitment of polling officials. Maintains and manage the list of potential polling officials received from the voter information postcards, civic groups, volunteers, and related sources. Communicates with potential polling officials and conducts orientation meetings. Assists in the development of an election worker information, education and outreach program as a means of maintaining and monitoring the election work force. Salary:$62,499-$79,959. Application:Visit dchr.dc.gov, click on “Career Opportunities” and search for keyword “election” or apply in person at the D.C. Department of Human Resources Job Center located in the South Lobby at 441 4th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Deadline:Open until filled.
General Registrar, City of Virginia Beach — seeking a qualified individual to fill an unexpired term ending June 30, 2015 as General Registrar. The appointed incumbent will be required to take and sign the oath of office prescribed in Article II, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia before the Clerk or Deputy Clerk of Court or a Notary (§24.2-120). We are looking for an individual with advanced voter registration experience; experience managing a voter registration office; experience working with electronic poll books; experience working with Microsoft Office programs to include Word, Excel, and Access; supervisory experience; budgeting experience; experience working with a board of directors; public speaking experience; and a college degree in fields such as public administration, business administration, or similar disciplines. Qualifications for this position include any combination of education (above the high school level) and/or experience equivalent to eight (8) years in position(s) providing the knowledge, skills and abilities listed above and associated with such positions as Registrar, Assistant Registrar or voter registration office management; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Must be a registered voter in the Commonwealth of Virginia, be or become a City of Virginia Beach resident, have a valid Virginia driver’s license and be able to obtain a notary commission. The General Registrar must file the signed oath with the Clerk of Court and a copy of the signed oath must be filed with the secretary of the Electoral Board and with the State Board of Elections (§24.2-120). Salary:$84,476. Application:For more information and to apply, click here. Deadline:Dec. 31.
Technology Scout/IT Visionary, Overseas Vote Foundation — inspired technology guru/visionary/whiz to join our innovative team. Strong understanding of the competitive application development market, standard available and emerging technologies, solutions, and providers is essential in this position. Work with us to help define our technical direction and improvements. Qualifications:Web applications development experience; applications testing experience; content Management and redevelopment of webpages; website development; graphic design and HTML programming skills highly valued. Personal ability to define and document work plan is required. Self-motivation and inquisitive thinking will be especially valued. Detail orientation, artistic strengths, and perfectionist qualities are all a plus to this position. Must be a native English speaker. Estimated time per week:10 hours. Type of Position:Volunteer, or monthly stipend for first 3 months. Salary:Freelance hourly or monthly thereafter. Must have own laptop. Location:Anywhere. Munich, Germany preferred but not required. Position available as of January 1, 2012. Application:Please submit resume and references. To Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, susan@overseasvotefoundation.org
Voter Outreach and Communications Manager, Overseas Vote Foundation —Munich-based communications professional to define, develop, document and execute specific, measureable marketing activities for state-specific and worldwide voter outreach campaigns for the 2012 election season and beyond. Qualifications:Proven, in-depth experience in marketing program management, campaign planning and budgeting required. Broad experience and current of awareness of online marketing campaign strategies and tactics is essential. Excellent direct marketing and public relations, including writing, skills must be demonstrated. Position is designed for a self-motivated, creative thinker – an idea person who knows how to execute and keep programs on time and on budget and can manage a program to completion with minimal supervision. Social skills, teamwork, verbal and written communication skills are essential. Ability to manage and monitor online content will be valued. Must be a native English speaker. Position available as of January 1, 2012. Estimated time per week:25 hours. Salary:Paid position. Compensation will be negotiated. Must have own laptop. Location:Anywhere. (Munich, Germany – preferred but not required). Application:Please submit resume and references to Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, susan@overseasvotefoundation.org