Publications
Voting Rights & Elections
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
Universal Voter Registration (Draft Summary)
This document is a summary of the policy proposal for universal voter registration that is being prepared by our staff.
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser and Renée Paradis
– 07/04/08
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
– 02/26/08
The Truth About Voter Fraud
Voter fraud makes a popular scapegoat. In the aftermath of a close election, losing candidates are often quick to blame voter fraud for the results. Legislators cite voter fraud as justification for various new restrictions on the exercise of the franchise. And pundits trot out the same few anecdotes time and again as proof that a wave of fraud is imminent. Allegations of widespread voter fraud, however, often prove greatly exaggerated.
Authored by: Justin Levitt
– 11/09/07
Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections
With the intention of assisting legislators, election officials and the public to make sense of recent literature on post-election audits and convert it into realistic audit practices, the Brennan Center and the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at Boalt Hall School of Law (University of California Berkeley) convened a blue ribbon panel. Included are several practical recommendations for improving post-election audits, regardless of the audit method that a jurisdiction ultimately decides to adopt.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden, Aaron Burstein, Joseph Lorenzo Hall and Margaret Chen
– 08/01/07
Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections (Executive Summary)
Executive summary of practical recommendations put forth by the Brennan Center and Samuelson Clinic for improving post-election audits, regardless of the audit method that a jurisdiction ultimately decides to adopt.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden, Aaron Burstein, Joseph Lorenzo Hall and Margaret Chen
– 08/01/07
An Agenda for Election Reform
This memorandum sets out a comprehensive election reform agenda for the 110th Congress and explains the reasons for each policy reform.
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser and Jonah Goldman
– 03/07/07
The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World
“This book not only systematically identifies 120 potential threats to voting technology, but it offers specific remedies and countermeasures that election officials can employ to make these attacks more difficult to perform.”
Authored by: Lawrence D. Norden and Eric Lazarus
– 02/01/07
The Machinery of Democracy
First ever comprehensive, empirical analysis of electronic voting systems. This full, four-chapter report includes sections on Voting System Security, Accessibility, Usability, and Cost.
Authored by: Lawrence Norden (project director)
– 10/10/06