Archiv: secret ballots


26.06.2023 - 10:06 [ OSETinstitute.org ]

Electronic Voting Banned in Germany

(Sep 2, 2022)

Earlier this year, there was an important legal dispute in Germany, about whether electronic voting machines were legal for use in German government elections. The dispute was decided by the German Constitutional Court (similar to the U.S. Supreme Court), and the short answer was „no.“ Now, we have available an official English translation of the ruling. As I had been told before, the ruling really does seem to ban any kind of computing equipment from being used in German elections. The legal reasoning was interesting enough that I thought I‘d share one reflection on it. The basis for the ruling was the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (similar in function to the U.S. Constitution) and the principle that „all essential steps in the elections are subject to public examinability.“

26.06.2023 - 10:00 [ Library of Congress ]

Germany: Constitutional Court Decision on Electronic Voting

(Mar. 25, 2009)

The Court invalidated the Federal Voting Machine Regulation (Bundeswahlgeräteverordnung, Sept. 3, 1975, BUNDESGESETZBLATT I at 2459, as amended, available at http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bwahlgv/index.html). This Regulation failed to require transparent control mechanisms for ensuring an accurate vote count and thereby violated article 38 and article 20, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Basic Law (the Federal Constitution) (Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz, GG) [in English translation], http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/GG.htm#20 (last visited Mar. 23, 2009)). Article 38 guarantees free and equal elections, whereas article 20, paragraph 1, requires that governmental power be based on elections and paragraph 2 guarantees that laws and regulations are in conformity with the Constitution.

26.06.2023 - 09:25 [ NYmag.com ]

Trump Wants to Make America Vote Like It’s the 1960s

(Aug. 16, 2022)

Republicans under Trump’s leadership view voting as a privilege that should be zealously guarded against those who can’t affirmatively prove their eligibility on demand or who aren’t able or willing to stand in long lines on Election Day under the watchful eyes of professional intimidators. All the fatuous talk these days of the GOP being the party of the working class is hard to square with its determination to maintain a throwback system of voting that makes it hard for working people to cast ballots during restricted hours on a weekday.

18.06.2021 - 10:14 [ voanews.com ]

UN General Assembly to Vote 5 Countries to Security Council

The U.N. General Assembly will vote Friday to give rotating seats on the powerful 15-nation Security Council to five countries.

Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates are all running unchallenged for two-year terms. But to succeed, each will still need to secure a two-thirds majority of the secret ballots cast.

02.06.2021 - 07:56 [ Haaretz ]

Israeli Lawmakers to Vote for New President in Secret Ballot on Wednesday

Front-runner Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Jewish Agency and former head of the Labor Party, is also the son of a previous president, Chaim Herzog. He is expected to win backing from legislators of both the right and the left after he amassed the signatures of 27 MKs representing all the parties in the Knesset, except for the Arab ones.

01.11.2020 - 08:20 [ DesMoinesRegister.com ]

Here‘s why, despite what polls say, Trump is winning

In August, the respected CATO Institute reported that 62% of Americans acknowledge holding views that many people consider offensive. Among conservatives, that number skyrockets to 77%. With potentially tens of millions of closeted fans, Trump is a pollster’s nightmare. The wife of a pro-Trump buddy of mine detests the 45th president. Yet, when she slams Trump — which is very often — my friend smiles, nods approvingly, and replies, “I hear ya, sweetie,” or, “you sure got that right, honey.” Another guy who does the same thing says, “Happy wife; happy life.”

19.08.2020 - 02:01 [ theHill.com ]

Pelosi on postmaster general pausing changes: ‚They felt the heat‘

Pelosi first announced on Sunday that she would call the House back early from its August recess to vote on legislation that would prevent the Postal Service from making changes to delivery operations during the coronavirus pandemic. The House is scheduled to convene on Saturday to vote on the bill in a rare weekend session sandwiched between the Democratic and Republican conventions.

17.08.2020 - 18:51 [ AmericanThinker.com ]

Vote by Mail: Turning the Clock Backwards

Today, using the coronavirus as an excuse, the Democrats seek to abolish how we conduct elections in the United States.

Our current system of voting came into being as a result of a great progressive reform movement in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Ardent progressive reformers, like the socialist Henry George in 1886, strove to prevent corruption in the electoral process. The progressive reformers championed a system of voting by an official ballot printed at public expense by a neutral authority. Previously political parties had printed their own ballots and ward bosses paid people to vote for their candidates, stuff ballots and vote repeatedly.

The system was intimidating and enormously corrupt. A supervisory public authority was necessary to monitor balloting, ensure fairness, and provide the necessary element of voter secrecy.

The new structure of reform called the ‚Australian ballot‘, (named from its place of origin) specifies that a citizen coming to the poll be registered to vote and identified. At the poll, he gives his name and address. He receives an official ballot; marks it in the secrecy of a booth and hands it in to be counted.

17.08.2020 - 10:57 [ gesetze-im-internet.de ]

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

Article 28
[Land constitutions – Autonomy of municipalities]

(1) The constitutional order in the Länder must conform to the principles of a republican, democratic and social state governed by the rule of law within the meaning of this Basic Law. In each Land, county and municipality the people shall be represented by a body chosen in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections.

(…)

Article 38
[Elections]

(1) Members of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret elections.

17.08.2020 - 10:32 [ Wikipedia ]

Secret ballot: United States

Elections in the United States are mostly held by secret ballot,[20] although some states use mail ballots instead, which violate requirements 3 and 4 of the „Australian ballot“, as it is distributed to the home, and potentially marked in the presence of other people. The states of Colorado, Oregon, and Washington conduct all elections by mailed ballots.[21] The Constitution for the state of West Virginia still allows voters to cast „open ballots“.

17.08.2020 - 10:26 [ Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House ]

Dear Colleague on House Returning to Save the Postal Service

That is why I am calling upon the House to return to session later this week to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Maloney’s “Delivering for America Act,” which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020. House Democratic Leader Hoyer will soon be announcing the legislative schedule for the coming week.

To save the Postal Service, I am also calling upon Members to participate in a Day of Action on Tuesday by appearing at a Post Office in their districts for a press event.