Archive for 2018

Today is the seventh(!) annual National Voter Registration Day – and organizations across the nation are celebrating with events aimed at encouraging Americans of all ages to register to vote. With just 42 days until Election Day, now’s the time …if you need to register or update your voter record, do it today!

Flood waters are slowly receding in the parts of North Carolina hardest hit by Hurricane Florence, leaving election officials in some counties to scrambling to cope with Election Day just six weeks away. The State Board is stepping in with assistance – and the close of registration could be delayed – but local officials say they’ll be ready when it’s time to cast ballots.

Election Day is 46 days away, and preparations are in full swing across the country. As you get it all together for the big day – and for just a little Friday fun –  here’s a short list of songs/videos for #electiongeeks everywhere – enjoy!

My friend Dana Chisnell over at the Center for Civic Design has a new post about an innovative way that newspapers can encourage voter registration – namely, by printing their own forms! As Election Day – and in states that have them, registration deadlines – approach, efforts like these could be a tremendous help to voters seeking to add or update their names on the rolls.

Yesterday, a federal judge expressed serious doubts about the security of the State of Georgia’s voting machines, and the state’s pace in responding to potential vulnerabilities – but declined to order a switch to paper ballots so close to Election Day 2018. The ruling signals the impending end of an era; Georgia was an early statewide adopter of touchscreen voting technology after enactment of the Help America Vote Act … but change is coming to the Peach State.

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a favorite saying: “The good news about election administration is that you don’t have to sweat the small stuff. The bad news is that there is no small stuff.” That once again came to mind this week as election officials in Youngstown, OH discovered that an error on state absentee ballot requests is causing them to be returned to sender. It’s not a huge problem – officials caught it in time and are working with the Post Office – but it’s a reminder that even the smallest things can potentially be big problems as Election Day approaches.

One of the nation’s highest-profile state election jobs is up for grabs in Ohio between two state legislators with a record of interest in election issues: Kathleen Clyde (D) and Frank LaRose (R). Ohio has long been a state to watch in the election community, both for its impact on election policy but also for high-profile litigation – and yes, partisanship – that often drives the national conversation. Both candidates are making a shared commitment to a healthy, fair and secure voting process; here’s hoping that survives the heat of a statewide campaign in the Buckeye State.

Last week, the State of Colorado hosted a cybersecurity tabletop exercise outside of Denver entitled Election Preparedness for Infrastructure and Cybersecurity (EPIC TTX). It was an amazing event; 180 days of chaos packed into two frenetic hours – all dedicated to preparing state and local officials for whatever life throws their way on and before Election Day.

The Fall 2018 issue of Minnesota Alumni Magazine has a really nice profile of our Certificate in Election Administration Program. It’s especially great because it because it highlights the stories of our students – who are the reason we do what we do and are the best advertisement for the future of the program.

Late yesterday, the Federal Voting Assistance Program released the results of its latest Overseas Citizen Population Analysis. One notable conclusion was the existence of an “obstacles gap” which affects the overall voting rate for these voters – and if successfully addressed, could increase overseas participation fivefold. It’s a blueprint for improving the voting process for that segment of the overseas community that is interested in voting but is prevented or deterred by these obstacles from doing so.