voting

Karzai Declared Afghan President, Run-Off Scrapped

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:45:11 -0500

by Golnar Motevalli

KABUL - Afghanistan's election commission declared Hamid Karzai elected as president on Monday after it called off a runoff following the withdrawal of his only rival.

The run-off, called after the first round in August was marred by widespread fraud, was to have been held on November 7.

"The Independent Election Commission declares the esteemed Hamid Karzai as the president ... because he was the winner of the first round and the only candidate in the second round," the commission's chief Azizullah Ludin told a news conference.

NAACP President CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous to Lead Voter Registration Drive at Maine Correctional Facilities

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:13:44 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2009

NAACP

NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous will be leading a voter registration and NAACP membership drive in the Maine State Prison and the Bolduc Correctional Facility.

Afghan Vote Watchdog Finds Fraud, Orders Recounts

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:29:07 -0400

by Akram Walizada and Peter Graff

KABUL - Afghanistan's U.N.-appointed election watchdog said on Tuesday it had found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in last month's presidential election and ordered a recount of suspicious returns.

The announcement came on the same day a suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle outside a NATO military base at Kabul's main airport killing three civilians, the Afghan capital's worst attack since the vote.

Ballots and Bullets for Afghanistan

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:00:28 -0400

by Ann Jones

With only days to go before the election in Afghanistan, it looks like the fix is in. That's what most Afghans have been saying all along.

Why Afghans Have No Hope in This Week's Vote

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:38:35 -0400

by Malalai Joya

Like millions of Afghans, I have no hope in the results of this week’s election. In a country ruled by warlords, occupation forces, Taliban insurgency, drug money and guns, no one can expect a legitimate or fair vote.

Democracy's Gold Standard

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:59:44 -0400

by Brad Friedman

Last March, the country's highest court found secret, computerized vote counting unconstitutional. The country was Germany. The Constitution that computerized counting violated was the one the U.S. wrote and insisted Germans ratify under the terms of surrender following WWII.

Paul Lehto, a U.S. election attorney and constitutionalist, summarized the German court's landmark finding:

• The Constitution requires a "publicly observed count."

• No "specialized technical knowledge" can be required of observers.

Supreme Court Pulls Teeth From the Voting Rights Act

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:17:26 -0400

by John Nichols

Once an election is done, it is hard to undo.

That's true in Iran, and it's also true in the United States.

This is why it is important to get the rules by which elections are held right before elections are held.

For this reason, one of the essential components of the Voting Rights Act -- arguably its most powerful tool for combating discrimination and disenfranchisement -- has long been a requirement that officials get approval from the Department of Justice before they change the way in which elections are conducted.

Tense Iran Braces for Anti-Ahmadinejad March

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:36:36 -0400

TEHRAN - Iranian opposition supporters staged a defiant rally against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election on Monday, with his defeated rival set to appear in public for the first time since the vote triggered the worst unrest in a decade.

Iran's supreme leader has also ordered the country's top election supervisory body to look into the complaints raised by former premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has branded Friday's election a vote-rigged "charade."

A Call for Universal Voter Registration

Sun, 24 May 2009 12:10:23 -0400

by Katrina vanden Heuvel

This is the third in a series of posts concerned with just democracy. The first was an overview of the current state of our electoral system; the second a look at the prospects for a national popular vote for president.

Washington Becomes Fifth State to Join Agreement on Popular Vote for President

Fri, 01 May 2009 16:17:28 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2009

Common Cause

Governor Christine Gregoire signed legislation today that entered Washington into a binding agreement to elect the president using the national popular vote. The agreement, which has also been enacted by Maryland, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Illinois, will go into effect once states representing a majority of the Electoral College join it, possibly in time for the 2012 election.