Publications
Voting Rights & Elections
Voter Registration Modernization
This document is a summary of the policy proposal for universal voter registration.
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser, Michael Waldman and Renée Paradis
– 06/23/09
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 With 90 million eligible voters moving every five years - 45% of the total population - this system is not only outdated, but ineffective and costly.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
Restoring the Right to Vote
Despite a history of expanding the franchise, there remains one significant blanket barrier to the franchise. 5.3 million American citizens are not allowed to vote because of a felony conviction. As many as 4 million of these people live in our communities, but are still denied the right to vote because of a prior conviction.
Authored by: Erika Wood
– 05/11/09
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
Is America Ready to Vote?
This report asks, in the face of election system problems, what procedures has each state put in place to ensure the integrity of every citizen’s vote? Put another way, in the event of voting machine problems on Election Day, how prepared is each state to ensure that every voter can vote, and that all of those votes will be counted?
– 10/16/08
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
Better Ballots
Eight years after the 2000 election, and billions of dollars spent on new voting technology, the problems caused by poor ballot design have not been fully and effectively addressed on a national level. Year in and year out, we see the same mistakes in ballot design, with the same results: disenfranchisement.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden, David Kimball, Whitney Quesenbery, and Margaret Chen
– 07/20/08