Archive for 2014

Once again, Ohio is battling over absentee ballots, as Cuyahoga executive (and gubernatorial candidate) Ed FitzGerald seeks to use county funds to mail applications to county voters – and state officials are trying to stop him. Is another compromise possible?

Pew’s 2012 Elections Performance Index finds that progress is being made nationwide on increasing election performance but some states – even those with modest improvement – run the risk of being left behind.

St. Clair County, IL is discussing the possibility of consolidating precincts to cut back on pollworkers and therefore lower election costs. The only obstacles at this point are time and old state laws mandating low voter maximums per precinct.

WisPolitics recently sat down with Wisconsin election director Kevin Kennedy for an interview as he approaches 35 years(!) helping to run elections in the Badger State.

A new study by the North Carolina State Board of Elections purportedly identified hundreds if not more double votes in the 2012 election. As the state digs into the findings, the pattern of partisan reaction and outrage is already familiar.

Brian Newby’s latest ElectionDiary documents the frustration that can result when an important document (a naturalization certificate) is needed for election purposes. Regardless of whether or not you like proof-of-citizenship, it’s a problem.

Congress is poised to move quickly on new legislation to require “I Voted” stickers in federal elections – and is promising to help pay for them, though the money may not arrive until after the requirements go into effect. [NOTE: APRIL FOOL’S :)]

A new study of registration outreach programs in Washington State finds that targeted mailings to eligible but unregistered citizens can increase registration rates nearly 50%.

The head of the New York City Board of Elections just slammed the City Council for deliberately underfunding the agency in an effort to make it fail. The accusation came at the same time the agency requested a huge budget increase. Smart? We’ll see.

A new report from the Minneapolis city clerk examines the 2013 mayoral election and makes recommendations about how to make the ranked-choice voting process cheaper, faster and more efficient – even as voters are divided on whether it should remain.