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The 2008 Election: A Look Back on What Went Right and Wrong
March 26, 2009
Both the margin of victory and the absence of any major meltdowns kept the 2008 presidential election from going the way of its 2000 counterpart. Despite this relative success, much remains to be learned from the nation’s experience last November, particularly in terms of voter registration issues and the implementation of voter identification laws. The U.S. House Committee on House Administration recently heard testimony from a range of experts and advocates on the lessons to be learned from 2008 and on proposals for reform going forward.

To read witness statements and watch an archived webcast of the hearing, go here.
Featured Resources
This study highlights the recent success in Missouri of voter registration in public assistance agencies from August 2008 through May 2009, which is mandated in the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. Missouri registered over 112,000 new voters in one year through public assistance agencies.
This report explores an effort undertaken by Vermont during the 2008 election aimed at serving the state’s elderly population by sending trained workers to residential care facilities; it outlines the various benefits of such an approach.
This article explores the constitutionality of poll watcher statutes, arguing that laws permitting their presence at voting locations are permissible under the U.S. Constitution.
The Research Database on the U.S. Voting System and Voting Technology provides access to empirical and analytical research about voting and elections to inform evidence-based reforms.
This article explores the ways that various states distribute authority for the purchase of new voting technology, and argues that the procurement process can be improved through cooperation and shared responsibility.
Research Projects
Project Vote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that works to empower, educate, and mobilize low-income, minority, youth, and other marginalized and under-represented voters.
This project aims to evaluate the current state of reliability and uniformity of U.S. voting systems; to establish uniform attributes and quantitative guidelines for performance and reliability of voting systems; and to propose specific uniform guidelines and requirements for reliable voting systems
As part of its broader research focus on elections, campaign ethics, campaign finance, and the legislative process, the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland is engaged in research projects on voting technology and ballot design specifically.
The mission of the VoTeR center is to advise state agencies in the use of voting technologies and to investigate voting solutions and voting equipment to develop and recommend safe use procedures for their usage in elections.
Directed by early voting scholar Paul Gronke and housed at Reed College, the Early Voting Information Center provides news and research on and a state-by-state overview of early voting issues.
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