Archive for 2013

Brian Newby’s latest Election Diary takes on the “future of elections” and describes the challenges facing election administrators in their efforts to plan – and pay for – that future.

A proposal to allow legal non-citizens to cast ballots in New York City elections raises a host of fascinating administration issues beyond the obvious policy disputes accompanying an expansion of the franchise in the nation’s largest city.

The Census Bureau has released its report on registration and voting in 2012. While some of the findings are jarring (Mississippi #1 in turnout? Minnesota begs to differ) the linkage of participation data to demographics makes the report a valuable tool.

What happens when the underlying decision to be made in an election is suddenly moot before voting is over? That’s the question in South Florida when the tax deal supporting a Dolphins stadium vote fell through in the Legislature.

A proposal to establish an early voting pilot in selected Connecticut municipalities is encountering the same constitutional questions that resulted in an ongoing effort to enact an amendment to allow the practice at the state level.

The cost of the troubled 2012 election in Richland County, SC includes over $150,000 in legal fees to investigate and resolve the problems … but the cost could have been much higher had not one attorney been willing to work even longer for free.

Election reform bills in Florida and Colorado are very close to becoming law after votes last week – but those votes reflect the continuing divisions between the parties on elections policy.

One sharp-eyed voter in McAllen, TX saved a county from a potentially bigger problem on Election Day. Her story reminds the rest of us that voters are a vitally important – maybe the most important – part of any election system.

A state court judge hearing the challenge to Pennsylvania’s voter ID requirement asked for some key data to help decide the case. While that isn’t an unusual thing for a judge to do, it does signal a departure from the largely fact-less arguments we’ve had to date.

The World Wide Web celebrated its 20th anniversary yesterday. After two decades of explosive growth, however, there are still areas (including elections) where its influence has yet to reach. A new Pew infographic has the details.