Thank you for following the work of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project. We’ll continue looking at the issues of election reform at AEI and Brookings. For new work on congressional redistricting, please visit www.redistrictingproject.org.

A Review of Academic Literature on the Effectiveness of the National Voter Registration Act (PDF)
This literature review organizes research on NVRA into two categories: the impact of NVRA on overall registration and turnout, and its effect on equality in participation. It notes weaknesses and the gaps in research on NVRA, and suggests that additional efforts be made to research the impact of NVRA on specific demographics, especially those that traditionally have low registration and participation rates.

Read the report here.
Featured Resources
Exploring the ways in which technology can be better utilized to improve the accuracy of voter registration databases can provide valuable guidance. Researchers undertook a pilot project to determine the feasibility of using database matching to identify voters in Oregon and Washington.
This report reviews the election process across all fifty states, using the Carter-Baker Commission’s recommendations as guidelines.
Under the Voting Rights Act, any state-level change to voter registration rules must be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. Georgia’s proposed VoteSafe program, designed to keep private the addresses of victims of domestic violence, was approved by the Department of Justice.
Studies on college campuses demonstrate that face-to-face interactions, rather than direct mail or e-mail contact prove to be the more effective method of registration for voters, especially those who are most likely not to vote.
In this new book, Michael Hanmer argues that to understand how these institutional arrangements affect outcomes, it is necessary to consider the interactions between social and political context and these laws.
Research Projects
FairVote develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels.
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.
Dēmos is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2000. A multi-issue national organization, Dēmoscombines research, policy development, and advocacy to influence public debates and catalyze change.
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.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
www.aei.org
The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
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