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Reaching Potential Registrants
NOVEMBER 2008
Reaching Potential Registrants
Record numbers of new voters registered before this year’s elections, and the issue of fraudulent registrations appeared frequently in the media and even made it into one of the presidential debates. An analysis from the Election Reform Project examines the unique issues confronting the homeless and ex-felons, while a report from Dēmos looks at successful efforts to register low-income voters at public assistance agencies.
Featured Resources
As part of a project conducted on behalf of the Colorado Secretary of State, the Elections Division has recently made available for comments a draft voter registration form. It will be accepting comments until October 30, 2009.
After three consecutive years’ of governor vetoes, the Rhode Island assembly succeeded in enacting into law a teen voter pre-registration bill. It joins Hawaii and Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, in permitting pre-registration for teenagers.
A mailing campaign undertaken by the Washington Secretary of State focused on registering eighteen year-olds around the state to vote early. This report discusses the results of that campaign.
This issue brief summarizes the case in favor of modernization of voter registration procedures. It notes that more than two million voters were unable to vote in the 2008 election as a direct result of issues with registration.
Tova Andrea Wang makes the case for modernizing voter registration practices in the states, in the context of the upcoming gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. Both states have large percentages of recently naturalized and first generation Americans.
Research Projects
FairVote develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels.
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.
Center for Democracy & Election Management was established at the School of Public Affairs at American University in 2002. Their broader goal is to pave the way for and strengthen democracy through improved electoral performance.
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice.
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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