Report

• Bringing Elections into the 21st Century: Voter Registration Modernization

  Aug 31, 2009 - America’s current voter registration system is outdated, costly and inaccurate. A recent study estimates that more than two million voters were unable to cast a ballot in the 2008 general election due to registration problems.

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• 2008 Survey of the Performance of American Elections

  Mar 25, 2009 - This survey conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that while most Americans who voted on Election Day had a positive experience, problems with election administration–including registration, polling place location, voter identification and long lines–affected millions of voters, and most significantly, were a major factor preventing as many as 38%  of voters who registered but did not go to the polls to vote.

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• Election 2008 in Review

  Dec 09, 2008 - Predictions of historic turnout, an overburdened election system and polling place meltdowns never materialized on November 4. In fact, the 2008 election might have restored sagging voter confidence.

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• Data for Democracy – Improving Elections through Metrics and Measurement

  Dec 03, 2008 - The Pew Center on the States’ Make Voting Work initiative assembled a broad set of stakeholders with the expertise to comment on the importance and challenges of prioritizing, collecting and applying elections data to provide and improve information for the public on election performance and management.

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• Election Preview 2008: What if We Had an Election and Everyone Came?

  Oct 21, 2008 - This preview from electionline.org provides a comprehensive look at the rules, technology, registration figures and issues to watch in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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• Being Online is Not Enough: State Elections Web Sites

  Oct 16, 2008 - A 50-state analysis released by Make Voting Work, a project of the Pew Center on the States, examined the usability of states' election Web sites and found that voters cannot easily locate information online.

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• Summary: Military and Overseas Citizen Voting Project

  Sep 15, 2008 - This summary highlights the challenges facing military and overseas citizens voters and offers solutions.

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• Voter Surge Will Challenge States

  Jul 28, 2008 - With a historic presidential race expected to drive huge numbers of people – particularly first-time voters – to the polls, states have a lot of work in store to ensure that every vote counts, reports Stateline.org.

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• 2008 Primary in Review

  Jul 24, 2008 - A review of the 2008 primary season has found that the dramatically increased number of voters taxed the election system more than any administrative problem.

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• Case Study: Election Observation Dispatches from the Polls

  May 15, 2008 - A report by electionline.org examines ways that individual observers of the nation’s elections – which are under more scrutiny than ever this year – can be a collective asset.

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• Make Voting Work: The First Pilot Projects (Spring 2008 Trust Magazine briefing)

  Apr 30, 2008 - Make Voting Work approaches its work thoroughly schooled in the Pew Center on the States' strategy of moving issues forward based on nonpartisan, rock-solid data and information.

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• Many Happy Returns (Spring 2008 Trust Magazine article)

  Apr 30, 2008 - In America, every vote counts. But is every vote counted? No one knows better than electionline.org.

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• Following the Paper Trail

  Feb 21, 2008 - A new report by electionline.org details how five states that implemented electronic voting have chosen or are considering statewide paper-based optical scan systems.

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• The Help America Vote Act at 5

  Nov 29, 2007 - HAVA represented a dramatic shift in the relationship between the federal government and its state and local counterparts in the area of election reform — namely the promise of nearly $4 billion in federal funds tied to a series of federal requirements, all to be enforced by a new federal agency.

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• Overseas Voting – Challenges and Innovation

  Oct 25, 2007 - Military service members and other overseas voters face hurdles to casting ballots.

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• Toward a Voting System Worthy of a Democracy (Spring 2007 Trust Magazine article)

  Jun 04, 2007 - Pew's Evaluation unit reports on an evaluation of electionline.org, an initiative which helps set the agenda for election administrators, policy makers and journalists by illuminating best practices.  

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• War Games: Issues and Resources in the Battle for the Control of Congress

  Feb 05, 2007 - A complete summary of the CSED 2006 research project, which used over twenty academics and scores of monitors on the ground to gather information about twelve competitive Senate and House races.

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• The State of the States 2007

  Jan 08, 2007 - The 2007 edition of Stateline.org's annual survey of trends.

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• Election 2006 - Electionline.org Briefing

  Nov 29, 2006 - Briefing which analyzes voting problems related to Election 2006.

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• Election Preview 2006: What's Changed, What Hasn't and Why

  Oct 24, 2006 - Report finds the November 7, 2006 election has the possibility—if not certainty—of problems at polls nationwide.

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• Election Reform Briefing: Translating the Vote--The Impact of the Language Minority Provision of the Voting Rights Act

  Oct 13, 2006 - electionline.org briefing finds that non-English speaking voters continue to face barriers at the polls despite federal protections.

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• Election Reform Briefing: Holding Form--Voter Registration 2006

  Jul 19, 2006 - As millions return to the polls for the Fall 2006 elections, electionline.org’s latest briefing finds that the process of voter registration remains largely unchanged.

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• What's Changed, What Hasn't and Why: Election Reform 2000-2006

  Feb 07, 2006 - Electionline.org's 2006 annual report about the state of election reform in the U.S.

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• States United (Winter 2005-2006 Trust Magazine article)

  Feb 01, 2006 - Article on the Pew Center on the States.

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• Confidence In PA State Government At Lowest Point in Two Years

  Oct 14, 2005 - IssuesPA/Pew poll findings on confidence in Pennsylvania's government.

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• Election Reform Briefing: Recounts--From Punch Cards to Paper Trails

  Oct 06, 2005 - Electionline.org reports on voter-verifiable paper trails and electronic voting machines.

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• Declining Fortunes: State Party Finances, 2004

  Sep 27, 2005 - Report on contributions to state party committees.

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• Shifting Gears: State Party Strategies Post-BCRA

  Sep 27, 2005 - An in-depth analysis of how fundraising has changed post-McCain-Feingold Act.

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• Election Reform Briefing: Solution or Problem? Provisional Ballots in 2004

  Mar 17, 2005 - Electionline.org reports on the use of provisional balloting in '04 elections.

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• Election Reform Briefing: Margin of Victory Covered Many Faults, But Did Not Diminish Problems

  Dec 17, 2004 - Report on status of election reform as it related to the 2004 U.S. election.

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• Electionline.org (Fall 2004 Trust magazine briefing)

  Oct 27, 2004 - Brief on electionline.org, a nonpartisan, non-advocacy Web site which features current information on election reform.

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• The Battle For The Buckeye State

  Oct 19, 2004 - A study of political party finances in Ohio from the Institute on Money in State Politics.

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• Election Reform Briefing: The Business of Elections

  Aug 11, 2004 - Electionline.org reports on the political activities of voting machine companies.

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• The Campaign Media Guide

  Jul 15, 2004 - A report by the Campaign Legal Center that provides an overview of the rights and obligations of candidates and broadcasters, and guidelines on how to monitor and affect political discourse during the 2004 election season. 

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• Juice Worth the Squeeze (Summer 2004 Trust Magazine article)

  Jul 01, 2004 - USA Today called the Trusts a "winner" when the U.S. Supreme Court backed campaign finance reform. Here's a reformer's point of view.

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• Election Reform Briefing: Securing the Vote--Can Americans Trust the Voting Machines?

  Apr 30, 2004 - Electionline.org reports on voting security, the most controversial aspect of election reform since the passage of the Help America Vote Act.

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• What’s Changed, What Hasn’t and Why: Election Reform 2004

  Jan 22, 2004 - Report from electionline.org finds many of the election problems revealed in Florida and elsewhere during the 2000 presidential election have not yet been solved.

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• Primary Education: Election Reform and the 2004 Presidential Race

  Jan 09, 2004 - A report from the Electionline.org and The Century Foundation looks at election reform issues that could have an impact on the 2004 primary election season.

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• Life Before BCRA: Soft Money at the State Level in the 2000 and 2002 Election Cycles

  Dec 01, 2003 - This study by The Institute on Money and State Politics shows that Democratic and Republican state political party committees raised $1 billion of soft money over a four-year period covering the 2000 and 2002 election cycles, with Florida leading all states by a wide margin.

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• Passing the Bucks: Money Games that Political Parties Play

  Sep 30, 2003 - This study documents a pattern of trades and transfers between the national party committees and state party committees in 13 selected states over three election cycles.

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