Archive for February 2013

102 year-old Desilene Victor is likely to be the face of President Obama’s call for election reform in the wake of long lines in 2012. But Ms. Victor’s story is far complex than a long line on Election Day, and highlights the challenges in the debate ahead.

Yale Law School’s Heather Gerken takes a look at Pew’s new Elections Performance Index – which she helped create – and likes what she sees.

With debates in Washington looming about what to do about lines at the polls, MIT’s Charles Stewart discovered that – at least according to one regular survey – the lines we saw in 2012 aren’t really new.

Election officials are reacting with concern to yesterday’s announcement that the Postal Service will soon stop Saturday home mail service.

Pew has released its inaugural Elections Performance Index, which signals a new era of evidence-based elections policy discussions both between and within states.

Today’s New York Times has a front page article looking at the issue of long voting lines and the potential federal response. While the attention (and data) is welcome, the continued partisan narrative is disheartening.

Cumberland County, PA is the latest community to consider relocating polling places from schools after the shootings in Newtown, CT last December. It’s a complicated issue that requires a balance between security and community.

St. Charles County, MO is purchasing new voting machines using funds it collected from leasing the old ones – a solution to election funding challenges worthy of note to other communities.