Posts by Doug Chapin

The numbers tell you how big Los Angeles County elections are, but then you watch a helicopter land and offload ballots and you realize just how big the County – and its efforts to manage its considerable election administration challenges – really are.

Indiana counties have slowly but steadily been transitioning to vote centers – and a new article looks back at what impact they are having across the state.

A new directive from the Ohio Secretary of State requires counties to prepare election administration plans and cites well-known resources like the PCEA report and EAC guides. It also requires some time and data work that should prove to be interesting.

Stateline’s Jake Grovum – one of a small handful of reporters on the election geek “beat” – reviews the growing common ground between the parties on issues like online and same-day registration – though differences on early voting and funding remain.

Grand County, Utah is moving to an all vote by mail system for the upcoming primary and while election officials believe it will improve service and cut costs, there is still work to be done to sell the change to voters used to “the way we’ve always done it.”

Brian Newby’s latest ElectionDiary is a detailed but important look at how one jurisdiction (Johnson County, KS) is struggling to balance planning for the future with the need to manage money today.

A new article out of Lake County, Indiana details election administration costs in the recent May primary – a piece that deserves to be the latest stop on my Election Costs Across America tour!

electionlineWeekly was kind enough to give me some space to elaborate on my remarks about growing the field of election administration – hopefully you’re as excited about the future as I am! [Happy Memorial Day Weekend; blog returns Tuesday 5/27.]

Massachusetts is about to adopt a wide-ranging reform bill including OVR and early voting, putting a dent in its reputation as (in the words of a former electionline colleague) “the place where election reform goes to die.”

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s order that the New York City Board of Elections address and improve the accessibility of the City’s polling places for people with disabilities. That work will take time, but at least now it can start.