Election Reform Newsletter, Issue #52
Election Reform Newsletter
AEI | The Brookings Institution.
May 21, 2008
Election Reform Newsletter.
On Topic.New Resources.Events. Forward to a Colleague.
On Topic: Technology Issues
Election officials may be concerned about the security and accuracy of their systems in the short-term, but the EAC has been considering new guidelines that will affect voting systems far into the future. A task force of the Election Reform Project has issued a set of recommendations on improving these guidelines, and the EAC also recently held a roundtable discussion on the document.
Read more »
»  REPORT: "A Review of Proposed Voluntary Voting System Guidelines" (PDF), AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project VVSG Task Force (May 2008)
»  OPINION/ANALYSIS: "Interdisciplinary Roundtable Discussion on the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines," U.S. Election Assistance Commission (May 2008)
 
 
 
 
Though researchers have long been interested in the execution of policies and procedures on Election Day, only more recently have they stepped up their efforts to catalogue what actually happens in individual polling places through direct election observation. A new report from electionline.org examines the observation activities of these researchers, as well as journalists, bloggers, advocates, and partisans.
Read more »
 
 
 
While much of the attention on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Indiana voter ID case has been on its potential effects on the ability of individuals to exercise their right to vote, legal scholars have also examined the broader effect the case may have on other election law cases. In two new essays from Election Law @ Moritz, Christopher Elmendorf and Daniel Tokaji explore how the decision may impact the way courts handle cases dealing with electoral mechanics, including restrictions on participation.
Read more »
 

New Resources
ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Lines at Polling Places (PDF)
Zachary Markovits and Douglas Spencer
University of California, Berkeley Survey Research Center (April 2008)
Report of the Attorney General's Task Force on Voting Irregularities (PDF)
Maryland Office of the Attorney General (April 2008)
VOTER REGISTRATION
An Election Day Registration Bill
Daniel Tokaji
Election Law @ Moritz (May 2008)
TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
Viewpoint: A Vote for Transparent Elections
Jamie Hester
AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project (May 2008)
Voter Information Websites Study
U.S. Election Assistance Commission (May 2008)
MORE ON ELECTION REFORM
 
Events
Public Meeting
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
May 22, 2008
Washington, DC
 
 
About The Election
Reform Project
The AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project aims to synthesize election-related research, link the research and policy communities, track and assist the implemen-
tation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and encourage improvements in HAVA and in election conduct and administration.
 
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Featured Resources
On Election Day, many voters are presented with a "straight-party option" on their ballots; here, Paul Herrnson and his team of researchers analyze the implications of that capability for voter accuracy.
Manza and Uggen investigate the impact of disenfranchising nonincarcerated felons by examining the history of the laws in the United States, their political impact in recent elections, and their associated racial dynamics
Overseas and military voters present unique challenges for election officials, and this report surveys the state of the research on addressing these needs.
The EPC’s preliminary analysis of complaints registered in the Election Incident Reporting System (EIRS) during the 2004 presidential election reveals problems in registration processing, absentee balloting, machine errors, voter suppression or intimidation, and provisional ballots
John R. Logan of Brown University analyzes the impact of voter displacement due to Hurricane Katrina on the results of New Orleans’s recent mayoral race. He finds that although black voters turned out in lower numbers than whites did, the displacement was not decisive in the election.
Research Projects
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.
Part of the Institute for Governmental Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, the Election Administration Research Center (EARC) aims to improve the administration of elections.
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.
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.
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