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Today marks seventy-seven days until Election Day on November 8 … and yet, as the big day draws near(er), there is still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen with election litigation in numerous states. Fortunately, UC-Irvine law professor Rick Hasen has a handy roundup in his (must-read) Election Law Blog.

There’s been a lot of talk (and concern) about the potential for for “poll watchers” during this fall’s elections – and Wendy Underhill, who heads up the elections team at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), has some thoughts on the roles of observers (and the need for poll workers) based on a joint report with the Carter Center and NCSL’s work with election officials nationwide.

A new report by three groups highlights risks to the secret ballot presented by the growth of online ballot marking tools and online transmission of voted ballots, and lays out steps that voters can take to minimize these risks. Just as election officials highlight the risk of late delivery associated with last-minute postal return of mail ballots, voters should know their secrecy risks when marking or returning a ballot online.

One underappreciated aspect of an election administrator’s job is the need to operate within a tight budget, meaning they are always on the lookout for ways to save money. In Muscogee County (Columbus), GA an employee’s relocation and some resourceful fundraising helped the election office get upgraded voting machines for next to nothing.

I’ve written about Ohio voters who were “mad as a wet hen in a thunderstorm” about vote by mail ballots that were mailed before Election Day but arrived late without a postmark and thus couldn’t be counted. You can add a veteran Utah legislator to that list, who is asking the Utah Supreme Court for a recount after he lost a recent primary by 9 votes with 70 late but unpostmarked ballots uncounted in the final tally.

In recent weeks, we have seen increasing concerns nationwide about cybersecurity – especially as we move closer to a national general election in November. Last week, EAC Vice-Chair Matt Masterson published a blog post that not only lays out what the EAC is doing to assist election offices across the nation but also suggests what those offices can do to help themselves.

Last week, The Pew Charitable Trusts released the latest edition of its Elections Performance Index (EPI) with data from the 2014 midterm election. In the most recent edition of electionlineWeekly, MIT’s Charles Stewart – a prime force behind the EPI – talked about what it means for American election administration now and going forward.

Back in late 2014, Illinois enacted a sweeping election bill that included Election Day registration. Now, a conservative group is planning to challenge the law in court, alleging that it improperly distinguishes between large and small counties – resulting in a partisan imbalance in its impact. Whatever the outcome, here’s hoping it doesn’t create (too much) uncertainty before Election Day.

The recent federal appeals court decision invalidating several changes to North Carolina election laws has placed one issue firmly in the hands of counties: early voting. Yesterday in Guilford County (Greensboro), that decision led to a raucous public meeting and a unanimous compromise plan that is intended to gain state approval – and as such was accepted if not embraced by community members.

Hennepin County, Minnesota is rolling out new e-pollbook technology this fall intended to speed check-in at the polls and improve absentee ballot logging as well as data transfer post-election. It’s a key development for the North Star State, which has been studying and discussing e-pollbooks since the defeat of voter ID in 2012 but now appears ready to move from discussion to deployment.