Archive for 2011

Student voters are once again a source of controversy. This post suggests that the challenge students pose is not inherent to their status as students but rather the result of the inability of registration systems to keep pace with America’s growing mobility.

Recent stories have examined the trend toward de-emphasizing local government, which could signal a profound change in election administration. But South Carolina’s experience with the 2012 presidential primary suggests localities will not go quietly – or cheaply.

Recent stories in West Virginia and Louisiana highlight the growing need for election officials to act to protect voters. This post discusses some tools and tactics that can help.

A recent Wisconsin report cleared Waukesha clerk Kathy Nickolaus of criminal wrongdoing in the mishandling of election returns in the April 2011 Supreme Court race. Yet the report still holds some key lessons for anyone in the high-profile job of election administration.

This post uses inflation data to adjust the North Dakota election costs we discussed last week to constant 2010 dollars. The results are a little surprising – and raise other questions about what was happening to affect election costs during that time.

In March 2008 Butler County, OH suffered voting machine problems that resulted in the loss of about 200 votes. Yesterday, they reached a settlement with their vendor worth $1.5 million. Wow.

A new piece by Governing’s Lou Jacobson looks at the role of Secretaries of State. While the job may not be the political plum it once was, it still carries tremendous weight in the world of elections.

Pew’s new Election Data Dispatches offer a window into the power of data to illuminate and guide election policy. This post looks at the first post on cost data from North Dakota and makes some observations about what might be going on and how else to view the data.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – the federal government is suing New York for failure to implement a federal election law. This time, the issue is the conflict between the state’s primary date and requirements for military and overseas voting.

NPR’s Pam Fessler – an unsung rockstar on election issues – has a piece today about the impact of budget cuts and turnout on lines at the polls in 2012. This post acknowledges the potential problem but sees it as an opportunity for the election community.