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.
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....
The Ohio Secretary of State’s elections summit is a process I hope other Secretaries of State will follow....
Illustrations by Risko
Can the U.S. Register Every Voter?
Brennan Center’s sixteen-country study provides blueprint for U.S. modernization plan.
Brennan Center Releases Report on Brunner’s Historic Election Summit
Bipartisan group reaches consensus on framework for reform for Ohio Elections.
Election Officials Voice Support For Brennan Center Report
Release from the Ohio Association of Election Officials, cross-posted on the Brennan Center web site.
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.
Letter to Secretaries of States re: Potential “Vote Flipping” on DREs
Joint letter sent to Secretaries of State where DREs on how to address reports of “vote flipping.”
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.