Is Our Election System Broken? Can We Fix It?
March 09, 2007
On Friday, March 9, 2007, the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project hosted a conference entitled "Is Our Election System Broken? Can We Fix It?" The event took place at the American Enterprise Institute, 1150 Seventeenth Street, NW, Washington, DC, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

Panelists at this AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project conference reviewed the election reform lessons to be learned from the 2006 midterm elections. They discussed the problems that occurred as well as the federal and state reforms to be considered in the near future.

To read a transcript from this event, go here, or scroll to the bottom of this page for a PDF version.

To listen to audio or view video from this event, go here.

Agenda

8:30 a.m. Registration

9:00 a.m. Panel I: The Lessons from November

Panelists: Rick Hasen, Loyola Law School
Gracia Hillman, Election Assistance Commission
Todd Rokita, Indiana Secretary of State

Moderator: John Fortier, AEI

10:30 a.m. Keynote Address: Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)

11:00 a.m. Panel II: What’s Brewing for Election Reform?

Panelists: Zachary Goldfarb, The Washington Post
Doug Chapin, electionline.org
Thomas Mann, The Brookings Institution

Moderator: Norman J. Ornstein, AEI

12:30 p.m. Adjournment
Featured Resources
This report examines the changes made in the Federal Voting Assistance Program between the 2000 and 2004 elections. It also highlights the many challenges related to military absentee voting that remain, particularly as the program incorporates new technology.
This paper explores the privacy issues involved in implementing electronic voting systems.
In this paper, the authors express skepticism regarding the integrity of existing electronic voting systems. Alternatively, they call for the implementation of auditing and verification tools.
Research Projects
Election Law @ Moritz, run through Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, contains both explanation and commentary on a wealth of election reform issues from a legal perspective.
Electionline.org provides daily news updates on election reform issues, as well as deeper analysis of selected topics, including recent reports on voter registration, recount procedures, and the progress in implementing the Help America Vote Act since 2002.
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.
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.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
www.aei.org
The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
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and The Brookings Institution