AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project

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.

Engaging the Energized Electorate: NASS Survey of State Preparations for the 2008 Presidential Election (PDF)

With election officials facing the prospect of record numbers of voters at the polls in November, many are asking whether local administrators will be ready for the influx. Using both compiled information and the results of a survey of state election officials, a new report from the National Association of Secretaries of State examines this question, focusing on strategies to increase participation (such as online polling place lookups, targeted outreach to particular groups of voters, and convenience voting), polling place operations, and the reporting and auditing of results, and providing state-by-state profiles of preparations.

Read the report here (PDF).

Long Lines at Polling Stations? Observations from an Election Day Field Survey (PDF) | APRIL 2009

Douglas Spencer (University of California, Berkeley) and Zachary S. Markovits (Pew Center on the States)

Through an Election Day field study, the authors examine the commonality of lines at polling stations. They find inefficiencies in all three steps of casting a ballot, which they define as voter arrivals, voter is served by poll workers, and voter interaction with voting machine.

Maintenance of State Voter Registration Lists (PDF) | SEPTEMBER 2009

National Association of Secretaries of State

This NASS document provides a state-level review of voter registration list maintenance practices.

Eyes on the Vote Count: Non-Partisan Observer Reports of Minnesota's Post-Election Audit and Recount (PDF) | MAY 2009

Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota

This report explores how Minnesota's recount processes were employed in Franken/Coleman election contest, arguing that while the system functioned quite well, reforms can be made.

Final Report, 2008-2009 Ohio Election Summit and Conference (PDF) | APRIL 2009

Lawrence Norden with Jessie Allen, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

This report provides an overview of reform proposals growing out of a summit convened by Ohio's Secretary of State to examine comprehensively the state's entire election system.

Election Administration Profiles of All Fifty States (PDF) | JULY 2009

Center for Democracy and Election Management

This supplemental report provides in-depth information on each state's election system.

More Resources »

Dēmos

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

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.

Early Voting Information Center

Reed College

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.

Project Vote

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.

FairVote

FairVote develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels.

More Research Projects »

Voter Access

Early & Absentee Voting

Election Administration

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
www.aei.org

The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu