Archive for 2015

Brian Newby’s latest ElectionDiary looks at a proposal by his colleague – Tabitha Lehman of Sedgwick County, KS – that would use a portion of political contributions to fund voting technology improvements. It’s a long shot, to be sure, but if nothing else it may kickstart a conversation about a problem that otherwise may run headlong into a fiscal buzzsaw of debt and taxpayer fatigue.

Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White is vowing to take his case all the way to the US Supreme Court after the state high court refused his request to overturn the remaining charges against him.

The Knight Foundation has announced the winners of its News Challenge on Elections, including 10 full project winners receiving at least $200,000 and another dozen prototype projects receiving $35,000 each. Congratulations to all the winners – including lots of familiar names – the result of all this work should be interesting to see!

The Technical Guidelines Development Committee announced recently that it will be convening public working groups to help with the voting system standards process. If successful, the process will open up to more voices and hopefully reduce the “innovation lag” between R&D and the market in the field of voting technology.

VoteCal, California’s new statewide voter registration database more than 10 years in the making, is beginning to roll out in a pilot phase this week. VoteCal is very important given its relation to several enacted and desired policy changes – and an aggressive implementation calendar that will have VoteCal in place for next year’s elections.

More than six months after reports of missing votes in Mineral County, NV a lawsuit has been filed alleging machine malfunction and efforts to cover it up at the state level. It’s a fascinating case that is being watched as far away as the Philippines given the increasingly international nature of the voting equipment market.

New Census data on registration and voting in 2014 shows several key trends, including continued high rates of early and absentee voting and that older people (65+) vote at more than two and half times the rate of younger Americans (18-34). While the data does have issues – namely, that it tends to over-report turnout because it is based on a survey – it’s a valuable dataset as the 2016 election races into view.

The current Voting Rights Act challenge to North Carolina’s election laws, like Shrek and his beloved onions, has several layers – each more fascinating and flavorful than the last. The court is being asked to decide not only the future of voting in the state but also, in essence, to weigh in on future enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.

Last weekend, the National Association of Secretaries of State renewed three resolutions – on UOCAVA, international observers and the future of the EAC – that put the organization on record on key issues facing the nation in 2015 and beyond.

Los Angeles County’s groundbreaking voting system work is familiar to many – but the project just got a much bigger national audience with a recent profile in BloombergPolitics. It’s a terrific look at a story that will almost certainly be a game-changer for jurisdictions nationwide struggling with what the PCEA called an “impending crisis” in voting technology.