Archive for 2012

Pew’s latest Election Data Dispatch looks at all the different reasons why jurisdictions faced long lines on Election Day. The discussion is reminiscent of a famous observation from a classic of Russian literature.

Charles Stewart of MIT has a new blog post that features a “back of the envelope calculation” about long lines in Florida, using recent federal data and a new proposed formula. The outcome is surprising.

A recent exchange on the New York Times “Room for Debate” page suggests that we are about to have a fierce national debate about the virtues of a nationalized election administration system. I don’t see it.

This just in (OK, just in last week): we have received a National Science Foundation grant to study pollworkers’ effect on election security.

As the debate about how to address long Election Day lines continues, it’s helpful to remember that at its root the problem is one of simple math.

In the spirit of equal time for good news, a tip of the election geek cap to the people who made Election Day work.

Minnesota voters just said “no” to a proposed constitutional amendment to require photo ID at the polls. That vote doesn’t end the national debate, but it just made the argument for “yes” a lot more complicated.

The big story from yesterday’s election seems to have been incredibly long lines in many jurisdictions – and many people, including the President, think “we have to fix that.” The challenge is to figure out what to fix – and how.

Here’s a quick list of resources as everyone heads out for Election Day.

Ever since 2000 we have watched the nation’s election system to see if problems will arise on Election Day. Here’s a short viewer’s guide based on my experiences over the last 12 years.