Archive for November 2015

Michigan’s state Senate recently enacted a bill to eliminate straight-ticket voting … a proposal already unpopular with Democrats and election officials but one which is generating even more partisan heat because of the inclusion of a $1 million appropriation opponents say is designed to prevent a referendum on the issue.

The U.S. Department of Justice has included numerous proposed changes to UOCAVA in its Servicemembers Legislative Package – most notably, a switch to E-46 for military and overseas ballots, extending the validity of FPCA registrations and revising the UOCAVA reporting requirement from annually to biannually.

Citing the threat of voter fraud, potential costs and “political gamesmanship,” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie yesterday vetoed a sweeping election reform bill. The veto – which wasn’t really surprising given partisan differences and the broad scope of the legislation – sets up a potential effort to take the issue to voters and suggests the fight is far from over.

A story about a hard day in one Harris County polling place is a reminder that it’s not just buildings and machines that make the process work, but also election workers who sometimes literally sweat the details to ensure that voters can cast their ballots.

electionline.org’s Mindy Moretti marks 10 years with the site this week – an amazing run that represents her commitment to the election world and reflects her dedication to serving her community.

A Cincinnati-area pollworker writes of her experience on Election Day, which featured technology problems and substantial voter inconvenience. It was a bad day, but hopefully it will help make next year’s election better.

Yale’s Eitan Hersh has a new blog post in which he suggests that Democrats’ general support for off-year elections can be viewed through the same “voter suppression” lens they aim at GOP support for voter ID.

We’re not likely to have a lot of Election Day news today, but I’ll be trying to keep up with it here.

This morning, the EAC announced that two familiar names will join the agency in high-profile roles: Johnson County, KS’ Brian Newby as executive director and Washington DC’s Cliff Tatum as general counsel.