Latest news with #ElectionsCommission
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Business Standard
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
BJP alleges Tejashwi Yadav committed crime by keeping two voter IDs
A day after the Elections Commission refuted his claim that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, the BJP sharpened its attack on the opposition leader Press Trust of India New Delhi The BJP alleged on Sunday that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has committed a crime by keeping two voter IDs, noting that his Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number he cited at a presser was different from the one he officially carries. A day after the Elections Commission refuted his claim that his name was missing from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, the BJP sharpened its attack on the opposition leader. "The Congress and RJD have been thoroughly exposed... Did you (Yadav) lie under oath? Did you present wrong facts to the Election Commission," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra asked at a press conference. Patra noted that the voter ID the RJD leader had submitted in his 2020 poll affidavit was different from the one he had mentioned on Saturday to claim that his name was missing from the electoral rolls prepared after the contentious Special Intensive Revision exercise. He accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his ally Yadav of resorting to lies to weaken and insult constitutional institutions like the Election Commission and to dent India's stature. If a party leader like Yadav carries two voter IDs, then what will its workers be doing, the BJP spokesperson asked, claiming that it showed RJD members cast votes at two places to inflate support for their party. Mocking Gandhi, he said his claim of having an atom bomb to expose rigging of polls by the BJP with alleged connivance by the EC was a "damp squib" like Pakistan's nuclear threat to India. The desperation of Gandhi and Yadav, he claimed, was not to save constitutional bodies or the country but to save their families. All the likes of Sonia Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav want is for their children to settle down in politics, he said. Patra claimed that not a single complaint has come from booth agents of political parties about any name being deleted from electoral rolls in Bihar. Yadav's "lies" about EPIC are a harbinger of his party's epic defeat in the assembly polls, expected to be held in October-November, he added. Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday claimed that his name was missing in the draft electoral rolls published in Bihar and, when met with a rebuttal, insisted that there was a "change" in EPIC number allotted to him. At the press conference, Patra also cited NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Jitendra Ahwad's reported comment that Sanatan Dharma has ruined India to hit out at opposition parties for insulting Hindus. Sanatan is truth and what he has said is like insulting truth and Shiva, Patra claimed. He asked Sharad Pawar and his daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule to explain if Ahwad spoke for the party or offered his personal opinion. Ahwad had sought to draw a distinction between Sanatan Dharma and Hinduism, alleging that the former targeted Maratha empire founder Shivaji and iconic Dalit leader B R Ambedkar. Asked about Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's claim about India not being able to present evidence to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam attack, Patra cited media reports that funeral in absentia was held across the border for a terrorist recently killed by security forces. Various Congress leaders keep making remarks favouring Pakistan, he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Over 2 lakh electors removed from draft electoral rolls in Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur: Names of 2,44,612 electors were removed from the draft electoral roll published on Friday. The draft electoral roll has been published following special intensive revision (SIR) across the state between June 25 to July 26. Bhagalpur DM-cum-district election officer Nawal Kishor Choudhary, while releasing the revised electoral rolls, said the total electors in the district before the SIR were 24,00,414 and now it has reduced to 21,55,802. He said the SIR was conducted by 2,263 booth level officers (BLOs) in the district and supervised by 250 supervisors besides other officials including himself. The DM said the names of 62,852 dead and 1,25,388 electors who had migrated to other places were removed. Besides, 26,566 electors whose names were found at two places were also removed from the published draft electoral rolls, he said. Referring to the increase in the polling booths from the existing 2,263 to 2,678, the DM said 415 polling booths were added to the district in view of the Elections Commission's directive to constitute one polling booth for every 1,200 numbers of electors.
Hindustan Times
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
'Election Commission involved in vote theft': Rahul Gandhi drops ‘atom bomb' ahead of Bihar poll, says 'won't spare you'
Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, amid the escalating row over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, on Friday claimed that an independent investigation by the Opposition revealed the Election Commission of India's alleged involvement in a massive "vote theft" to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rahul Gandhi issued a warning to the Election Commission officials, stating that "they won't be spared."(PTI) "We have open and shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in vote theft. Most importantly, whoever in the Elections Commission is involved in this exercise, right from top to bottom, we will not spare you," Gandhi said while talking to the media outside the parliament. Without naming specific individuals, Gandhi issued a stark warning to those within the Commission, saying, "You are working against India, and this is no less than treason. We will find you wherever you are, even if you are retired." Explosive allegations by Rahul Gandhi against ECI Amid the INDIA bloc's protests against Bihar SIR in the parliament, Rahul Gandhi claimed that the opposition conducted an independent investigation after the recent election results and found proof that would reveal ECI's involvement in voter theft. "After the results of the Madhya Pradesh and Lok Sabha elections, we had our suspicions. Those only deepened after the Maharashtra Assembly polls — especially when we saw that 1 crore new voters had suddenly been added to the final voter list. That's when we realised the Election Commission wouldn't act. So, we launched our own six-month investigation. And what we uncovered is nothing short of an atom bomb. Once it explodes, the Election Commission will have no place to hide," Rahul Gandhi said. Rahul Gandhi's warning After his explosive claims, Rahul Gandhi issued a stern warning to the Election Commission officials, stating that even if they were retired, they wouldn't be spared. "Most importantly, whoever in the Elections Commission is involved in this exercise, right from top to bottom, we will not spare you. You are working against India, and this is no less than treason. Wherever you are, even if you are retired, we will find you," Gandhi said. The Election Commission has not yet responded to the allegations. Controversy over Bihar SIR Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc parties will protest in front of Makkar Dawar in Parliament on Friday, demanding a discussion in both Houses on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. On Thursday, the INDIA bloc parties, in a unanimous decision at their meeting, resolved to intensify their protests against the ongoing SIR both inside and outside Parliament. The INDIA bloc's protest comes as the Election Commission is scheduled to publish the draft electoral rolls of Bihar on Friday.
Al Arabiya
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Former wisconsin clerk who failed to count ballots broke laws, the state's elections commission says
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A confluence of errors, including unlawful actions by the former clerk in Wisconsin's capital city, led to nearly 200 absentee ballots not being counted in the November presidential election, an investigation by the state elections commission released Wednesday concluded. Maribeth Witzel-Behl resigned as Madison city clerk in April amid investigations by the city and the Wisconsin Elections Commission into the missing ballots. No outcome of any race was affected by the missing ballots. The city's investigation released in April determined that Witzel-Behl didn't break any laws but did violate multiple policies and her contractual duty to supervise elections and maintain professional standards. But the elections commission report concluded that there is probable cause that Witzel-Behl broke five election laws. The election commission's investigation was not a criminal probe. Whether the former clerk is actually charged with any crimes would be up to the Dane County district attorney. The elections commission report concluded that Witzel-Behl broke state law for failing to properly supervise an election, not providing the most recent current registration information for pollbooks in two wards, improperly handling the return of absentee ballots, not properly canvassing the returns as it pertained to the 193 uncounted ballots, and failing to provide sufficient information for the municipal board of canvassers to do its work. 'The failure to count the 193 ballots in Madison was a result of a confluence of errors,' the report concluded. It determined that Madison did not have procedures to place to track the number of absentee ballots going to a polling place, and there was a complete lack of leadership in the clerk's office. 'Instead of working to solve the problem, Witzel-Behl went on vacation for weeks after the election,' the report said. 'These ballots were treated as unimportant and a reconciliation nuisance rather than as the essential part of our democracy they represent,' the report said. The report also said that an unauthorized person was found sleeping in the building owned by Dane County and used by the city to store ballots. According to one of the workers at the facility, that person could have accessed the room where the security carts were stored. On multiple occasions, workers found unlocked doors at the building, a former brewery near the Madison airport, the report said. The report makes seven recommended orders for the city to comply with to improve its operations. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the report's findings and recommendations at its July 17 meeting. Madison city attorney and acting clerk Michael Haas said in a statement that he hoped the report can provide lessons that 'we and other Wisconsin clerks can learn to prevent similar errors in the future.' The city has already implemented additional safeguards and procedures that were in place for elections earlier this year to ensure that all eligible absentee ballots are accounted for, Haas said. He declined further comment until after the commission's vote on the report. The elections commission investigation was led by Democrat Ann Jacobs, the commission's chair, and former chair Republican Don Millis. They are both attorneys. This marks the first time in the eight-year history of the commission that it has used its investigatory authority. The investigation determined that two bags of uncounted absentee ballots likely never made it to the wards where they should have been counted. Dane County canvassers discovered 68 uncounted absentee ballots in a tabulator bin on Nov. 12, a week after the election, and another 125 uncounted ballots in a courier bag the first week of December. The clerk's office did not notify the Wisconsin Elections Commission of the oversight until Dec. 18, almost a month and a half after the election and well after results were certified on Nov. 29. Witzel-Behl told investigators she wasn't aware of any uncounted votes until the week of Dec. 10, even though she apparently sent an email to her staff on Nov. 27 to keep the ballots sealed and record the voters as having participated. Four voters whose ballots weren't counted have filed claims for $175,000 each, the first step toward a class-action lawsuit.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Former Wisconsin clerk who failed to count ballots broke laws, the state's elections commission says
A 'confluence of errors' including unlawful actions by the former clerk in Wisconsin 's capital city led to nearly 200 absentee ballots not being counted in the November presidential election, an investigation by the state elections commission released Wednesday concluded. Maribeth Witzel-Behl resigned as Madison city clerk in April amid investigations by the city and the Wisconsin Elections Commission into the missing ballots. No outcome of any race was affected by the missing ballots. The city's investigation, released in April, determined that Witzel-Behl didn't break any laws but did violate multiple policies and her contractual duty to supervise elections and maintain professional standards. But the elections commission report concluded that there is probable cause that Witzel-Behl broke five election laws. The election commission's investigation was not a criminal probe. Whether the former clerk is actually charged with any crimes would be up to the Dane County district attorney. The elections commission report concluded that Witzel-Behl broke state law for failing to properly supervise an election; not providing the most recent current registration information for pollbooks in two wards; improperly handing the return of absentee ballots; not properly canvassing the returns as it pertained to the 193 uncounted ballots; and failing to provide sufficient information for the municipal board of canvassers to do its work. 'The failure to count the 193 ballots in Madison was a result of a confluence of errors,' the report concluded. It determined that Madison did not have procedures to place to track the number of absentee ballots going to a polling place and there was a 'complete lack of leadership' in the clerk's office. Instead of working to solve the problem, Witzel-Behl went on vacation for weeks after the election, the report said. 'These ballots were treated as unimportant and a reconciliation nuisance, rather than as the essential part of our democracy they represent,' the report said. The report also said that an 'unauthorized person' was found sleeping in the building owned by Dane County and used by the city to store ballots. According to one of the workers at the facility, that person could have accessed the room where the security carts were stored. On multiple occasions, workers found unlocked doors at the building, a former brewery near the Madison airport, the report said. The report makes seven recommended orders for the city to comply with to improve its operations. The Wisconsin Elections Commission is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the report's findings and recommendations at its July 17 meeting. Madison city attorney and acting clerk Michael Haas said in a statement that he hoped the report 'can provide lessons that we and other Wisconsin clerks can learn to prevent similar errors in the future.' The city has already implemented additional safeguards and procedures that were in place for elections earlier this year to ensure that all eligible absentee ballots are accounted for, Haas said. He declined further comment until after the commission's vote on the report. The elections commission investigation was led by Democrat Ann Jacobs, the commission's chair, and former chair Republican Don Millis. They are both attorneys. This marks the first time in the eight-year history of the commission that it has used its investigatory authority. The investigation determined that two bags of uncounted absentee ballots likely never made it to the wards where they should have been counted. Dane County canvassers discovered 68 uncounted absentee ballots in a tabulator bin on Nov. 12, a week after the election, and another 125 uncounted ballots in a courier bag the first week of December. The clerk's office did not notify the Wisconsin Elections Commission of the oversight until Dec. 18, almost a month and a half after the election and well after results were certified on Nov. 29. Witzel-Behl told investigators she wasn't aware of any uncounted votes until the week of Dec. 10, even though she apparently sent an email to her staff on Nov. 27 to keep the ballots sealed and record the voters as having participated. Four voters whose ballots weren't counted have filed claims for $175,000 each, the first step toward a class-action lawsuit.
