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Lawmakers Unveil Election Reform Compromise
Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Administration Committee Thursday (11/8) unveiled the framework of a bill that they say could cross partisan lines and provide a powerful and financially generous incentive to reform elections nationwide. The “Help America Vote Act of 2001,” co-sponsored by Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the […]
Election Officials Move to Avoid ‘Another Florida’
Election officials in two states and host of cities, towns and counties holding elections tomorrow (11/6) have put in place a number of voting reforms to avert “another Florida” as they prepare for the first major balloting since Republican George Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore in last year’s disputed presidential race. “It’s a reaction to […]
Survey Finds No Consensus on Election Reform
A survey of election reform in the states, courts and Congress has found while the drive for election reform continues, any real consensus of how to repair voting has yet to form. The report, released Monday (10/22) by the Election Reform Information Project, reports that a groundswell for reform still exists. But the accomplishments so […]
GAO Finds Widespread Problems in 2000 Elections
The General Accounting Office has released a long-awaited, comprehensive survey of American voting, and found that problems with voting extended well beyond the Florida border. Using surveys and interviews, the research arm of Congress found more than half of the voting precincts in the country experienced “major problems” on Election Day 2000, primarily stemming from […]
California Mulls A Punch-Card Free Future
The Golden State will become the fourth in the country to outlaw punch cards, following the lead of Maryland, Florida and Georgia. It could also face the most complicated and costly upgrade as it looks to move its punch card machines from polling places to scrap heaps by 2006. California Secretary of State Bill Jones […]
Election Campaigns Enter ‘Uncharted Waters’
Patriotism, not politics, has been on the minds of many since terrorist attacks last Tuesday. Now a week past, however, elections and campaigns are resuming, entering what both election officials and candidates have called “uncharted waters.” Voters in some cities in New Hampshire, Kentucky and Washington State returned to the polls Tuesday (9/18), amidst questions […]
Election Reform Drive Brings Little Change
Most Americans who return to the polls next year to cast ballots for Congress will vote in exactly the same way they did before. Their ballots will look the same and will likely be counted in the same manner. In most districts, punch card machines will not lie in scrapheaps, chads will still be hanging […]
Election Reform Reports Reveal States Best, Worst
Two new reports alternately praise and chastise states for their election practices while offering vastly different proposals for how to best reform voting practices in this country. The first, a report entitled “Voting in America,” by the National Conference of State Legislature’s Election Reform Task Force, outlines best voting practices in states, including clear and […]
Disabled Disappointed With Election Reform Proposals
While a host of election reform task forces and commissions from the public and private sector have offered recommendations for improving the way the U.S. votes, none have called for a federally-mandated right for access to polls and the opportunity to cast a ballot independently and privately. For Carla Ruschival, voting is more an act […]
Elections Aren’t Broken, But Could Use Help, Study Says
Election administrators from around the country said Thursday (8/9) the nation’s system of voting is “not in crisis” as they presented the findings of their own six-month task force investigation into election reform. The National Task Force on Election Reform (not to be confused with the National Commission on Federal Election Reform) brought together 37 […]
Senate Takes Awkward Step Forward On Election Reform
The Senate Rules Committee voted 10-0 in favor of an election reform bill authored by its chairman, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn. The legislation would mandate minimum standards for states while offering hundreds of millions of dollars for machine, registration and voter education improvements. The easy passage, however, was marred by the absence of all nine […]
Carter-Ford Election Commission Softens Its Tone
In its eagerly awaited report on how to improve U.S. voting procedures, the National Commission on Federal Election Reform calls for an overhaul of registration and recount practices, but stops far short of recommending the kind of systemic overhaul that some of its leaders initially favored. The group favors state-by-state election reform instead of a […]