Publications
Voter Registration Drives
Voting Law Changes in 2012
Ahead of the 2012 elections, a wave of legislation tightening restrictions on voting has suddenly swept across the country. This Brennan Center guide details both the bills that have been proposed and the legislation that has been passed since the beginning of 2011.
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser and Lawrence Norden
– 10/03/11
Online Voter Guides
The Brennan center released two updated voter guides for students and citizens who have moved. The guides are available online along with general information for voters.
Authored by: Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Team
– 09/21/10
Voter Registration Modernization: Collected Reports and Papers
An overview of the work done over the past few years by the Brennan Center exposing problems of Voter Registration and offering solutions—solutions that could bring the United States in line with other democracies around the world, and which would increase the number of voters registered and make the registration process simpler and easier.
Authored by: Wendy Weiser, ed.
– 10/05/09
Automatic Registration in the United States: The Selective Service Example
Authored by: Laura Seago
– 07/15/09
Permanent Voter Registration
This report examines systems of statewide permanent registration under which, once a voter registers to vote in a state, she can move to a new address within the state or change her name and vote a ballot that counts in a subsequent election — without having to re-register each time she moves or takes affirmative steps to change her registration information. We conclude with recommendations for developing effective systems of permanent registration.
Authored by: Adam Skaggs & Jonathan Blitzer
– 06/19/09
When Voters Move
In the United States, a voter registration is linked to residential addresses, meaning that every time a voter moves, they need to update their registration. With 90 million eligible voters moving every five years - 45% of the total population - this system is not only outdated, but ineffective and costly.
Authored by: Myrna Pérez
– 06/13/09
Expanding Democracy: Voter Registration Around the World
This report is summarizes an examination of voter registration systems in sixteen countries. The United States is one of few democratic nations that place the entire burden of registering to vote on individual citizens. There is a better way to make voter registration more comprehensive and accurate, with clear benefits to voters, overall taxpayer savings, and less burden on election administrators.
Authored by: Jennifer Rosenberg with Margaret Chen
– 06/10/09
2008 & 2009 Ohio Elections Summit and Conference
After voting ended on Nov. 4, 2008, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced a bipartisan convening to study the recent election with a goal of determining what went right as well as what could be improved. This is the final report from the summit and conference.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden with Jessie Allen
– 04/08/09
2008 Ohio Elections Summit
After voting ended on Nov. 4, 2008, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced a bipartisan convening to study the recent election with a goal of determining what went right as well as what could be improved.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden with Jessie Allen
– 03/11/09
Voter Purges
This report is one of the first systematic examinations of voter purging, a practice—often controversial—of removing voters from registration lists in order to update state registration roll. After a detailed study of the purge practices of twelve states, Voter Purges reveals that election officials across the country are routinely striking millions of voters from the rolls through a process that is shrouded in secrecy, prone to error, and vulnerable to manipulation.
Authored by: Myrna Pérez
– 09/30/08