Archive for 2017

York County, PA has issued a report about its Election Day 2017 issue where voters were able to vote twice for the same candidate in some races. It appears to stem, in part, from the always-tricky issue of how to transition/retain knowledge and experience from a retiring employee – but questions remain about why voters and the public weren’t notified sooner.

Back in August, I wrote about how Montana SoS Corey Stapleton’s claims of “voter fraud” in the May 25 special Congressional election had generated tension with local election officials across the state. Now, after a survey of questionable ballots, Stapleton is walking back those claims and pledging to work with locals to reduce “misconduct” involving vote-by-mail ballots.

Yesterday, Idaho became the 36th state to offer online voter registration as part of a brand-new voter information portal. The news – big enough to encourage the Secretary of State to host his first press conference since his election in 2014 to crow about it! – is continuing evidence of OVR’s popularity across the nation

The State of Iowa will mail 123,000 state-issued ID cards to voters who lack other identification as part of a new law that will require voter ID by 2019. Iowa’s action reflects the growing understanding by voter ID proponents and opponents alike that the success of such laws – in practice and in court – hinges on whether or not voters without ID can get access to it in a convenient and timely manner.

The City of Santa Fe, NM is facing a series of questions about how to implement ranked-choice voting (RCV) after a recent court ruling ordering that it be used in the City beginning with next March’s mayoral election. Now that RCV and the technology to support it are in place, election officials and voters alike have to work through various issues regarding how it will work in practice.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission rounded out its 2017 Clearinghouse Award announcements yesterday by honoring three counties – Denver, CO, Indian River, FL and Pierce, WA – for innovations in election administration. Congratulations to all three and thanks to the EAC for this award program, which allows election officials to “brag on” their best accomplishments and share them with a nationwide audience.

The EAC continued yesterday with its Clearinghouse Awards in the area of accessibility for voters with disabilities, honoring a trio of election offices – Washington’s Secretary of State, El Paso County, CO and Collin County, TX – for their work in making the voting process open to all voters.

Minneapolis, MN and Port Huron Township, MI are the winners of the 2017 Clearinghouse Awards from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for their programs focused on pollworker recruitment and training.

It isn’t unusual to see stories (or at least allegations) about voters in one state casting ballots in another – but in Missouri it appears there are some voters who have difficulty casting valid ballots because they have Iowa addresses.

Colorado recently conducted the nation’s first post-election statewide risk-limiting audit (RLA) – and the state announced that the audit was successful in all counties chosen to participate. It’s a huge development for the field; Colorado’s efforts to make the theory and math of RLA happen in the “real world” is a tremendous first step – and the cooperation between election officials and advocates is a sight for sore eyes.