DDOS Attacks and Election Day: What to Do? [HINT: Don't Wait.]

Last Friday, Internet users across America were affected by an apparent worldwide distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack using an army of household appliances to barrage the network with data requests. That could be a problem on Election Day, but not if voters use information already available to learn about voting – or, if they’re willing and able to do so, to cast their ballots.

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ElectionlineWeekly on 2016's Election-Related Ballot Questions

Election 2016’s fight for the White House and control of Congress gets lots of attention – and rightly so – but there are many, many other contests on the ballot, including several that could affect how future voters cast their ballots. If nothing else, election geeks can keep an eye on these questions on Election Night as we wait for the other high-visibility races to be decided.

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Preparing for Write-Ins: Advice from the Center on Civic Design

Election Day is three weeks from today, and due to the content and tenor of the current presidential campaign, there is growing interest in write-in votes. As with many other aspects of the election process, there’s more to the story of casting a write-in than initially meets the eye – and the gurus at the Center for Civic Design have some tips for election officials looking to assist their voters.

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Worse Than Nothing? Judge Orders Florida to Give Voters Opportunity to Fix Vote-by-Mail Ballot Signatures

Less than a week after ordering the State of Florida to extend its registration deadline because of Hurricane Matthew, a federal judge has criticized the state for its application of a rule that invalidates vote-by-mail ballots with non-matching signatures. The dispute highlights the growing challenges associated with using signatures and other handwritten documents to validate voters’ identities.

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BONUS POST: Column with Larry Jacobs: "Enough Already: US Elections Are Fair"

My UMN colleague Larry Jacobs and I have a contributors’ column in The Hill newspaper entitled “Enough already: US elections are fair”. It highlights the work done by election officials across the nation and signals our commitment to ensuring that the profession of election administration continues to attract the kind of smart and dedicated public servants who currently make America’s democracy work.

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Back By Popular Demand: electionlineWeekly on Chicago's New "I Voted" Wristbands

Mindy Moretti has a great story in the latest electionlineWeekly about how Chicago’s election office is putting a new twist on an old favorite at the polls – offering “I Voted” wristbands to voters in lieu of stickers, which were abandoned in the city years ago. It’s great to see election offices recognize the power of small tokens for voters as a thank you for turning out and encouragement for others to do the same.

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Can I Get a Witness? (cont.): Wisconsin Absentee Rules Create Controversy

Wisconsin’s new law requiring a witness’ address on absentee ballots is threatening to force election officials to discard such ballots. The state elections commission says officials can’t cure those problems without first obtaining voters’ consent – and officials worry that could end up disenfranchising people as Election Day approaches. Could litigation be far be behind?

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More States and Localities Seek DHS Cybersecurity Assistance

With Election Day less than four weeks away, more jurisdictions are seeking cybersecurity assistance from the federal government. Congressional leaders have assured states and localities that such assistance will not expand the federal role – but don’t be surprised if that issue re-emerges next year, resurfacing the federal vs. state tensions that underpin our nation’s election administration system.

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Federal Court Extends Florida Registration Deadline

Last week, I wrote about the dispute over Hurricane Matthew’s impact on Florida’s voter registration deadline. Yesterday, a federal court in Tallahassee ruled that the deadline must be extended at least one day to Wednesday, with a possible further extension based on a hearing. The case raises interesting legal questions about how to review the constitutionality of state laws affecting registration and voting.

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