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Connecticut has formally launched its training program for registrars – supported by SoS Denise Merrill and inspired by election problems in Hartford and elsewhere in recent elections. A key aspect of the program will be the requirement that election officials take and pass the courses as a condition of employment, though all concerned say they’ll do what they can to make sure everyone does.

The City of San Francisco has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking a new voting system … and that request illuminates the challenges facing election administrators in an ever-changing environment: finding a system that meets legal requirements with a desired technological approach – all at an affordable price.

Neighbors (and B1G Ten rivals) Nebraska and Iowa are both moving soon to online voter registration for 2016 and beyond – a development that means about half the country now offers OVR to its citizens. It’s a development that is likely to be a fascinating and welcome counterpoint to the partisan fights that a national election brings.

With this weekend marking the unofficial end of summer, electionlineWeekly’s Mindy Moretti takes a look at a polling place at Los Angeles County’s Venice Beach … in a location where it’s almost always summer. [NOTE: Like most of you, the blog will be taking the day off on Labor Day. See you next Tuesday.]

News of criminal charges against Secretary of State Dianna Duran has led the legislature to begin steps to consider her impeachment – setting up a high-stakes political and legal drama just as state and local election officials need space and time to continue key preparations for the 2016 election.

A new story about Danvers, MA’s debate regarding consolidating precincts into a single location – at newly-renovated Danvers High – is a fantastic case study of the real-life issues election officials face in choosing and managing polling locations: turnout, traffic/parking and coordination with other local agencies. [UPDATED with info about police traffic details!]

A new report reveals that late-arriving mail has spiked almost 50% in recent years, due in large part to service reductions at the U.S. Postal Service. As we’ve seen, delivery delays can create major headaches for election officials and voters on and before Election Day. In short, the (admittedly huge and expensive) problems the USPS faces need a comprehensive solution – and soon.

Summit County, OH has an unusual problem: a GOP state senator wants to serve as a pollworker – and Democrats on the county board of elections are in favor while GOP members have concerns. As a result, the SoS will decide. The dispute rests on issues of partisanship and control over the process – but the prospect of an elected official seeing the Election Day experience first hand is kind of exciting.

Hitting the road as part of the Great College Student Migration of 2015 … taking a short break – and I’ll be back with you next Monday, August 31.

The EAC has cleared Iowa’s use of federal HAVA dollars to fund voter fraud investigations starting back in 2012. Critics worry that the ruling could open the door to similar programs elsewhere – but that’s unlikely given that most states’ HAVA cupboards are long bare. If nothing else, the ruling finally closes the books on a strange program and allows both Iowa and the EAC to move forward on other far important tasks.