Charm City Challenge: State Decertifies Baltimore Primary Results

Last Friday, the Maryland State Board of Elections took a very unusual step to deal with problems with the City of Baltimore’s primary: it decertified the results and is carrying out an audit to determine what went wrong. It appears that the focus of the audit will be provisional ballots, which may have been scanned incorrectly – though if so there is disagreement as to who (the state or the city) is at fault.

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Let's Work Together: Arizona Advocates Seek Partnership With Officials to Improve Elections

Arizona’s recent Election Day woes are well-documented, but a group of Phoenix-area advocates is going beyond the usual route of litigation and public criticism and seeking a partnership with state and local officials on issues with the election process. Similar efforts in California have been incredibly productive – and if successful, can benefit not only participants and election officials but voters as well.

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On (From) Wisconsin: Kevin Kennedy to Retire

Wisconsin’s Kevin Kennedy will retire at the end of next month, leaving the state’s election agency after 37 years rather than stay on in the wake of a legislative overhaul of the state’s election structure. It’s a huge loss for Wisconsin but a tremendous opportunity for his colleagues nationwide to take advantage of his vast knowledge and experience.

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Preparing for "Cucuklillruunga!" Inside Alaska's Yup'ik Translation Process

A new piece in Alaska Public Media takes you inside the process of translating the state’s election materials into Native Alaskan languages like Yup’ik, where a team is working to see and hear English terms with new eyes and ears in order to convey key concepts in such a way that all voters can understand them and make informed choices. Quite simply, it’s fascinating.

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Mile High Moving Target: Signature Battles Complicate Ballot Printing in Colorado

Two Colorado U.S. Senate candidates who had lost their place on the ballot due to signature-gathering issues got help from a judge last week, who ordered that both of them be added to the ballot (at least temporarily). The fight illuminates how separate aspects of an election official’s job – here, the SoS’ responsibilities for ballot access and ballot preparation – can come into conflict as elections approach.

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President Obama Nominates Nevada's Kate Marshall to EAC

President Obama has nominated former Nevada State Treasurer and 2014 SoS candidate Kate Marshall to be the fourth member (and second Democrat) at the EAC. The nomination is already stirring partisan rhetoric, which likely means it’s not likely to move – but if it did it would restore the agency to full strength at a time when (controversies aside) it has a large agenda to work through.

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