Archive for 2016

This year, many voters are casting ballots and engaging with the election process earlier and in greater numbers than I can remember. The presidential campaign seem to have made voters unusually (and intensely) risk-averse and as a result they are engaging in “belt and suspenders.” For them, it appears that not having a vote cast and counted in this election is equivalent to being caught with your pants down.

Election Law Blog’s Rick Hasen asked me to write a short guest post … in case you missed it there, I’m also sharing it here.

In some states, election officials aren’t just in charge of ballots this November, they’re on them … and electionlineWeekly’s Mindy Moretti has a quick recap of the various races nationwide in 2016.

With voting underway in many states and Election Day less than five weeks away, delegations from around the world are arriving in the United States to observe the 2016 vote. International observation is a fantastic opportunity for state and local election officials to show what they can do – and in some cases, get the chance to see standard procedure through (many!) different eyes.

Yesterday, the Democracy Fund released a new report cataloging the impact of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, formed in 2013 to study key issues and make recommendations for improving America’s election system. The report reveals that the PCEA’s work has had a huge impact on how American voters cast their ballots – one which is of tremendous continuing value to the field.

Election Day is five weeks away, and election officials across the nation are in the the home stretch. U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Vice-Chair Matt Masterson has penned a new blog post that lays out the work left to be done and offers reminders and tips for offices as they get ready for the big day.

Last Thursday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will move the state toward a new election system in which voters will receive ballots in the mail and then have a variety of options for returning them. It’s a big change in a big state that – when combined with implementation of the state’s statewide voter database – means a big story to watch beginning next year.

Starting last Friday, in anticipation of Tuesday’s National Voter Registration Day, social media companies engaged in a push to highlight voter registration – and as electionlineWeekly’s Mindy Moretti finds, it has already resulted in a bumper crop of registrations in several states.

Political scientists Mike Alvarez, Lonna Atkeson and Thad Hall – friends, colleagues and electiongeeks all – have a fantastic new piece in the Washington Post’s “Monkey Cage” blog examining how Bernalillo County (Albuquerque), NM has worked to improve voter confidence by addressing key aspects of its election process.

There are 41 days until Election Day – or, as many election officials say, “E-41” – and we are still getting court activity that could have significant impact on the November election. Yesterday – somewhat fittingly, on National Voter Registration Day – there were key developments involving registration procedures in Illinois and Georgia.