Archive for May 2017

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear – and thus let stand – a lower court ruling invalidating voter ID and other changes to North Carolina election law as racially discriminatory.

MIT’s Charles Stewart is a familiar face on this blog, given his survey work on the voting experience and research on on polling place lines – and he has a piece at Election Updates on the new Presidential election integrity commission that has some important observations – especially about the potential lost opportunity for progress on efforts to improve the nation’s election system.

The White House announced yesterday that the President had signed an executive order establishing a Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity tasked with examining the nation’s system for federal elections. Partisan uproar aside, there are several questions about the commission worth watching when (and if) it gets underway.

A little more than two dozen voters in Marion County (Salem), Oregon got a surprise recently when their ballots arrived with no candidate names due to a design error. The nature of the error was such that it’s hard to identify a takeaway “practice pointer” going forward – meaning that it could just be one more thing for local officials to worry about before, during and after Election Day.

A new report finds that California voters with limited English proficiency aren’t getting all the assistance they need in casting their ballots, and it could bolster the chances of a bill designed to address many of those problems – especially as the state considers changing the way communities vote.

Last year, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bipartisan automatic voter registration (AVR) bill. Now, supporters are trying again in the state legislature with a revised bill aimed at addressing his concerns.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has signed a bill that will require voter ID and makes several other changes to the state’s election laws, including shortening early voting and eliminating straight-ticket voting.

Election officials know that the run-up to Election Day can be chaotic and exhausting as all of the various pieces of the process are coming together – and in Vermont, local clerks are trying to get the state to give them a “gap day” on the Monday before so they can be ready. Unfortunately for them, the Secretary of State and the Legislature don’t seem to agree.

New Yorkers are getting a chance to choose their new “I Voted” sticker in an online vote that runs through next week. While it’s definitely not the most important decision to be made in the elections field, it is worth paying attention and giving it some thought given how much voters love their “I Voted” stickers.

My friend and colleague Rokey Suleman has literally been around the world with his work in the election field – but he may have just taken on the most challenging post of his career as he takes over as Richland County (Columbia), SC election director.