Archive for 2011

With Election Day 2011 (and Election Day 2012!) rapidly approaching, here’s what every voter can do to make sure he or she is an “educated consumer” before casting a ballot.

Turnout of inactive voters in Colorado was up in 2011 after a controversy about whether or not they should receive ballots at all. This post wonders if the attention sparked by the controversy had anything to do with the results.

Pew’s new Election Data Dispatch looks at the growth in non-precinct place voting (NPPV). This post discusses what voters’ growing reliance on NPPV means for the field – and the future of election administration.

A new white paper by computer scientist David Jefferson on the differing characteristics of online commerce and online voting is a nice primer on the obstacles facing adoption of Internet voting in the United States.

A new study assessing the readability of state voter websites offers another chance to examine the issue of usability in the field of elections.

Election Day’s approach means a temporary pause in election administration news. We’ll take the hint and be back tomorrow.

As Election Day approaches, the smart folks at the Voting Information Project are starting to release state-specific “gadgets” to help voters navigate the process. They also have a snazzy new video that explains how it all works. Check it out!

The Colorado fight over inspection of voted ballots took another twist when clerks argued that data they already collect could be used to compromise the secrecy of individual ballots. It’s an interesting story – and one which could recur in other states.

A new Pew Election Data Dispatch looks at the readability of state ballot language. The results suggests the election community has a ways to go to make ballots clearer to voters.

In an era where local election administration news gets increasingly harder to come by, the Patch.com network is a treasure trove of details about the voting process nationwide.