Archive for June 2017

Wendy Noren, first elected Clerk of Boone County, MO in 1982, submitted her resignation letter yesterday due to health reasons. It’s a huge loss to the field; Wendy has been one of the elections community’s most relentless innovators throughout her tenure and a prime example of what election administrators can and should be.

The Pew Charitable Trusts has released a new Request for Applications seeking to identify a new home for the Voting Information Project beginning in 2018. It’s a huge step forward for VIP and a key turning point in the project’s evolution from a purely Pew-driven asset to one shared by the entire election field.

Yesterday, the Orange County, CA Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal to move the county’s election system to a vote center model, despite evidence it will save the County tens of millions in equipment costs. It’s yet another reminder that careful planning and ample evidence aren’t always enough to convince lawmakers to make election policy changes.

Last week, Charles Stewart had a post on his Election Updates blog that illustrates the impact of partisan polarization on the issue of voter confidence. It uses 2016 presidential election data to highlight the fact that election outcomes tend to drive voter confidence and show a strong partisan split. It’s worth keeping in mind the next time you hear that a proposed election reform will “improve voter confidence”.

A quick followup on three different recent stories – Maine’s ranked choice voting, North Carolina’s legislative districts and the U.S. Virgin Islands’ residency dispute – finds that recent developments in each jurisdiction have moved each plot line to a next step if not any closer to resolution. That’s somewhat typical in disputes like these, which often seem to make more news than progress.

Mindy Moretti has a piece in the latest electionlineWeekly about an Iowa program that provides counties with an an award-winning Ohio app to assess and improve the accessibility of polling places for voters with disabilities – along with the tablets to run it.

Larry Norden has a new piece in Slate responding to reports of Russian “spearphishing” attacks on state and local election officials. He says Congress needs to increase funding and support for state and local election officials. He’s right.

Two news stories out of New Jersey yesterday – involving keys and a basketball game – highlight the adage that “there is no small stuff in elections”, especially when it comes to polling places on Election Day.

Advocates and election officials alike are looking for more details after a report yesterday that as many as 17,000 voters may not have made it onto Philadelphia’s voter rolls despite filing timely applications.

Minnesota’s new state government finance bill has a nice provision for the state’s localities: a $7 million fund to assist with acquisition of new voting equipment.