Voting Technology
After the 2000 election and the passage of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, states moved to modernize election administration by retiring antiquated lever and punch-card voting machines and implementing new electronic voting machines. Electronic voting machines have not been the panacea to vote-counting woes that many had hoped they would be. Until recently, there has been surprisingly little empirical study on electronic voting systems in the areas of security, accessibility, usability, and cost. The result is that jurisdictions are making purchasing decisions and are adopting laws and procedures that do little to promote these goals.In 2006, the Brennan Center released two comprehensive, empirical analyses of electronic voting systems in the United States, The Machinery of Democracy: Protecting Elections in an Electronic World and The Machinery of Democracy: Voting System Security, Accessibility, Usability, and Cost. The Brennan Center continued its study of electronic voting security in Post-Election Audits: Restoring Trust in Elections. Since the Brennan Center initiated its study of electronic voting, it has been called upon to provide expert testimony before Congress and to assist election officials in developing procedures that promote secure and reliable voting systems.
A lawsuit filled by the Brennan Center and other voting rights advocates challenging Florida’s requirement that the driver’s license or Social Security number on a registration form be verified before a voter can be registered to vote.
Washington Association of Churches v. Reed
The Brennan Center has resolved the first lawsuit in the country concerning a new procedure to “match” voter information from one source to another.
Can We Register Voters Better? Yes.
Low voter turnout isn’t a result of apathy, but of poor voter registration systems. With a few simple changes—automatic registration, permanent registration through electronic updates, and an Election Day list correction procedure—50 to 65 million eligible voters would be added to the registration rolls. Congress must make this a priority.
Yesterday, Ohio Sec. of State Jennifer Brunner released to Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly a “blueprint for enhancing Ohio’s elections”....
Minnesota Redux, Adirondacks Edition
Looks like Minnesota’s senate race isn’t the only one that’s going to keep us waiting for a winner….
Illustrations by Risko
Brennan Center Applauds Ohio’s Bipartisan Election Reform WorkGroup
New York - Earlier this week, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued a final report to the House of Representatives regarding HB 260, introduced in August by Representatives Dan Stewart and Tracy Maxwell Heard.
New Ohio Election Bill Draws on Bipartisan Summit and Conference for Reforms to Ohio Election Law
Secretary Jennifer Brunner, Representatives Dan Stewart and Tracy Maxwell Heard introduced the Ohio Election Enhancements Bill. Drawn from the historic 2008 and 2009 election summits called by Secretary Brunner and chaired by the Brennan Center’s Lawrence Norden, the bill offers many reforms for Ohio’s Election System.
Can the U.S. Register Every Voter?
Brennan Center’s sixteen-country study provides blueprint for U.S. modernization plan.
Letter to New York State Board of Elections Regarding Overvotes on Optical Scanners
Letter to the New York State Board of Elections from a coalition of civil rights and voting rights groups regarding the high incidence of overvotes seen in voting systems recently adopted in New York.
Adam Skaggs before the Illinois House of Representaton
Testimony on legislative trends in election administration delivered before the House Elections Committee.
Letter to Secretaries of State re: Premier Voting Systems
Joint letter to 31 Secretaries of State where Premier voting systems are in use regarding product defect and recommending rigorous ballot accounting procedures.
Voter Suppression Incidents 2008
A list of voter suppression incidents from the 2008 election.
State Making Progress on Voting Systems
Editorial points out that the many counties have made great strides in switching over to voter-verified voting machines.
In advance of the 2008 general election, Executive Director Michael Waldman puts together the various processes by which voters are still being blocked from the polls, and what we can do about it.