Archive for July 2012

A recent USA Today article looked at the growing number of business based on sharing goods and services … this post asks (but doesn’t answer) if the same concept will work in the field of elections.

A new report from Waukesha County reveals that voting problems there in April not only affected the pace of vote counting but ultimately cost the county over $250,000.

A Michigan special Congressional election – and all of the attendant struggles for election officials – are an excellent example of what happens while you’re busy making other plans.

Brian Newby’s latest ElectionDiary tackles the problem of predicting turnout – which was featured in the Anchorage post earlier this week. Brian’s dive into the specifics shows why turnout is so vital – and why predicting it accurately is so difficult to get one’s head around.

Veteran Hawaii reporter Ian Lind is writing this week on voter turnout in the Aloha State. It’s extremely well-done and a terrific resource (or refresher) for anyone who seeks to understand how to calculate or use voter participation rates.

The trial in the Texas photo ID preclearance case is underway in a federal court in DC. The parties’ briefs and witness lists paint very different pictures of the case, which could not only affect the 2012 election but the future of the Voting Rights Act.

A new report on the troubled April election in Anchorage focuses in large part on the importance of anticipating turnout – and the consequences of a failure to do so.

One of the Illinois counties who discovered in March that optical scan ballots had been printed too wide is sticking with its vendor – but only until Election Day, and only because it’s too late to switch before then.

New York City’s latest drama involves a troublesome Congressional primary that may yield a recount after allegations of widespread problems. New Yorkers, who don’t always agree on much, appear to be increasingly united in their disdain for the Board of Elections.

The federal government is softening its stance on language in a key voting form for overseas voters – resolving a controversy that some had argued would hurt participation by Americans around the world.