In Focus This Week
Pew Center on the States and JEHT announce award recipients
$2.5 million will fund 16 projects that advance innovative solutions U.S. elections system
Washington, D.C.—The Pew Center on the States’ Make Voting Work initiative and the JEHT Foundation today are joining with election experts and state and local officials across the country to address the most pressing problems facing voters during the 2008 elections. In partnership with the JEHT Foundation, Pew is awarding $2.5 million in funding to 16 projects that advance innovative solutions to critical flaws in our elections system and improve accuracy, convenience, efficiency and security for voters. An additional $1 million in funding will be awarded over the next six months. The projects were selected from 183 proposals submitted to Pew in 2007 from state and local governments and election experts.
“Elections should be a time to celebrate the strength of our democracy, but despite increased federal and state efforts, the 2008 elections find the rules of the game in flux with policies, practices and technologies being instituted and discarded without an adequate base of evidence. As a result the integrity of our elections is relentlessly questioned,” said Michael Caudell-Feagan, director of Make Voting Work.
In April 2007, Pew’s Make Voting Work initiative and the JEHT Foundation released a joint invitation calling for proposals for funding that sought to identify new ways to measure the health and performance of elections and to develop and evaluate pilot projects offering innovative approaches to improve the election process. The goal was to draw on the expertise of election officials and academics currently studying elections issues—while also seeking to identify new partners from private-sector companies and diverse academic disciplines. The winning projects focus on evaluating strategies for improving voter registration systems, polling place access, and poll worker training and on election audits and performance assessment.
“We are pleased this unprecedented effort has already yielded such strong partnerships. The involvement of state and local election officials across the country in these projects is crucial since they have the knowledge, experience and opportunity to improve the nuts and bolts of voting. Make Voting Work addresses the lack of empirical evidence and examines on-the-ground experience to yield real solutions. The ultimate goal is a more successful process for citizens participating in democracy through the fundamental act of voting,” said Rachel Leon, senior manager for fair and participatory elections at the JEHT Foundation.
Make Voting Work selected the 16 projects, which focus their work on five distinct areas where major failings have been identified and improvements are being debated and implemented by election officials, but where additional expertise is desired and necessary to shape and evaluate these efforts. These areas include:
Voter Registration System Assessment ($669,000)
Successful voter registration systems enable eligible citizens to vote without undue burden, secure our elections from those ineligible to participate and facilitate communication with voters. Yet, registration rolls are created from piecemeal data collected by local election officials, state motor vehicle agencies and other nonpartisan and partisan get-out-the-vote campaigns. As a result, rolls fail to keep pace with a mobile society and are often inaccurate and costly to maintain. Make Voting Work has awarded five contracts for a combined total of over $669,000 to assess strategies for improving voter registration systems. Recipients include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is working with local election officials in Los Angeles, CA, New Haven, CT, Miami-Dade, FL, and Phoenix, AZ; the Washington Secretary of State’s office and Washington State University; the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, which is working with state and local election officials in Indiana and Kentucky, the U.S. Postal Service and the California Institute of Technology; the Overseas Vote Foundation; and the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office and University of Minnesota.
Vote Centers ($568,000)
States are increasingly grappling with the problem of overcrowded, inconveniently located and poorly designed polling places. In response, some states are experimenting with vote centers that replace neighborhood precincts and allow voters to cast ballots at large, centralized polling places anywhere in their city or county—near their work, school, shopping center or other destination. The innovation is in its infancy and important questions have been raised, including how to determine where vote centers should be located and what their impact is on voter turnout and the cost of running elections. Make Voting Work has awarded three contracts for a combined total of $568,000 to Ball State University, which is working with local election officials in Tippecanoe and Wayne counties in Indiana; Rice University, which is working with local election officials throughout Colorado and two Texas jurisdictions, Fort Bend and Lubbock; and the University of Tennessee, which is working with local election officials in Knox, Anderson and Loudon counties.
Audits of Elections ($467,000)
With concerns about the accuracy of voting systems continuing to rise, post-election audit requirements have been adopted by states seeking to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. Still, state requirements vary dramatically and there are no generally accepted standards for how to verify an election outcome. Make Voting Work seeks to fill that void by funding the testing of multiple techniques for measuring the validity and accuracy of vote counts on various voting systems. In addition, Make Voting Work is supporting efforts to broaden the definition of an election audit, seeking to identify other elements—beyond vote counts—that should be audited, such as pre-election preparations and poll worker performance. Make Voting Work has awarded four contracts for a combined total of $467,000 to the Maryland State Board of Elections, which is working with Prince George’s, Charles and Caroline counties; the University of Michigan, which is working with the state election director and a wide range of local election officials; the University of Utah, which is working with local election officials in Salt Lake and Davis counties; and the University of New Mexico, which is working with local election officials in Bernalillo County.
Online Training for Poll Workers ($318,000)
Volunteer poll workers are the foot soldiers of democracy, but, as recently documented by Pew’s electionline.org, their enthusiasm needs to be joined with proper training—particularly essential as voting systems and rules take on greater complexity. Studies show that poor poll worker performance impacts elections and harms voter confidence. More effective and convenient methods of training, such as online training, hold the promise of better equipped poll workers and greater voter confidence. Make Voting Work has awarded two contracts for a combined total of over $318,000 to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office to test an online training system and to HAVA Partners, a private-sector firm which is collaborating with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, Brigham Young University and University of Cincinnati.
Election Performance Assessment ($465,000)
To further help election officials, policy makers and the public assess the true impact of changes in policies, practices and technologies, Make Voting Work aspires to identify means that can be consistently applied to measure accuracy, convenience, efficiency and security. Make Voting Work has awarded two contracts for a combined total of $465,000 to Reed College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to design several assessments and apply them across selected jurisdictions.
In each of these areas and others where additional pilot projects and case studies will be commissioned over the coming months, Make Voting Work is establishing working groups comprised of the research teams for each project together with respected election officials, experts from the private sector and other needed specialists and representatives from affected communities. The working groups will help oversee the implementation of individual projects, evaluate and refine methodologies, offer a peer review and dissemination forum and develop strategies to ensure that proven innovations are engrained in the policies and practices of the field. All research will be disseminated through Pew’s Web site and directly by the research teams. To inform Pew and JEHT’s ongoing contribution, Make Voting Work will also host a series of major public forums on these research initiatives and additional challenges facing the field of election administration throughout 2008 and 2009.
A full list of the awarded contracts along with details on their corresponding projects and media contacts can be found online at www.pewtrusts.org.
Election Reform News This Week
U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (R-N.J.) introduced stopgap legislation that would dedicate $600 million to voting districts that convert to paper ballots or put in audit systems in time for the November presidential election. According to Newsday, the measure is designed to ensure that every vote is properly counted. “This is an emergency measure for this year to prevent as many disputes about the November election as possible,” Holt told the paper. The bill, would allow states and jurisdictions to receive reimbursements from the federal government if they convert to a paper ballot system, offer emergency paper ballots, or conduct audits by hand counts. The opt-in bill would provide incentives for states to provide voter-verified, audited balloting for the general election, but would not mandate standards for all states. The National Association of Counties, which opposed H.R. 811, is in support of the new, proposed legislation.
Although many Illinois voters began voting early this week, those in Hancock County are unable to do so because the county’s election equipment vendor, ES&S has not provided the ballots yet. “I do not have any ballots yet, and I don’t expect them this week,” County Clerk Kerry Asbridge told the Journal-Pilot. Asbridge said new election laws require different software for each precinct, to allow for precinct committeeman candidates, even though there may not be anyone running in many of the precincts. Previous software allowed for that one change. “It becomes redundant to set up each precinct as a separate ballot style when no one is running and all the rest of the ballot for that area is identical,” Asbridge said. Another reason for so many ballots on this election is that there are no elections in November of odd years now that school elections have been moved to April.
Controversy continues to swirl over Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman’s decision to decertify many of the voting systems used in the state. This week, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall asked Coffman to review his decision. Referring to ballots that were smeared with lipstick or mayonnaise and were then rejected by the ballot counting machines Hall The Daily Camera, “The certification process tests the equipment, but it doesn’t test it in a real election situation, taking in the front-end processes and back-end processes….These ballots would never have made it into a scanner.” Mesa County Clerk Janice Rich also sent a request to Coffman. Coffman received a request of a completely different kind from the chair of the state’s Democratic Party who called on Coffman, a Republican, to resign.
While the presidential contest will be sending many voters to the polls in 2008, there are a variety of other key races and initiatives on the ballot in 2008 that could impact voter turnout in certain parts of the country. A recent Stateline article details some of the other issues and high-profile races voters will decide on in 2008 including: 11 gubernatorial races, 10 attorneys general races, eight secretary of state races, partisan control of 20 narrowly divided state legislatures and ballot initiatives ranging from slot machines to how electoral votes are divided up to softening term limits for state legislatures.
Losing a loved one is never easy, but being reminded of that loss year in and year out for 20 years is more than one Texas mother can handle. Cindy Thomas died from ovarian cancer 20 years ago, but each year, Harris County sends Thomas a new voter registration card. “It hurts terribly. It’s like losing her all over again,” Wanda Thomas told a local television station. “I buried her. I love her. And getting this in the mail is like slapping me in the face,” Thomas said. Wanda Harris said she has repeatedly tried to fix the problem to no avail. The county election office told the station that the voter registration office uses three databases to check death records: The Bureau of Vital Statistics, public data and Social Security records. But they say they can’t find anything to confirm that Cindy is no longer alive.
Opinions This Week
National: Voter ID, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X; Vote-by-mail; Electronic voting; Audits
Alabama: Voter ID
California: Solano County
Colorado: Voting system, II; Online voting; Hand count; County clerks, II
Connecticut: Election day registration
Florida: Voter participation; Vote fraud; Elections confusion; Voter ID
Nevada: Voter ID
New Hampshire: Vote fraud; Recount, II; Poll workers
New Jersey: Audits
North Carolina: Instant-runoff voting
Ohio: Voting system, II, III, IV, V; Vote centers
Oklahoma: Early primary
South Carolina: Voting machines
Tennessee: Optical scan; Voter data
Wisconsin: Voter access; Voter ID
Some sites require registration
Job Postings This Week
All job listings must be received by 12 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday for publication in our Thursday newsletter. Job listings are free but may be edited for length. Whenever possible, include Internet information. Please email job postings to mmoretti@electionline.org.
Election Deputy Director II — Carroll County, Md. Supervisory or managerial level of work assisting an Election Director in conducting elections in local jurisdictions within the State. Employees supervise office support staff, which may include subordinate supervisors. Employees receive general supervision from an Election Director. Employees may be required to work evenings and weekends. The work may require travel throughout the State to exchange information regarding the election process and promote voter registration. Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate; four years of experience applying federal, state and local election laws and regulations applicable to conducting elections. Salary: $35,568 – $60,222. Application: May be obtained by visiting our website at: www.dbm.maryland.gov; by writing to DBM, OPSB, Recruitment & Examination Division, 301 W. Preston Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201; or by calling 410-767-4850, toll-free: 800-705-3493; TTY users call Maryland Relay Service, 800-735-2258. Deadline: February 1.
Election Information System Specialist — Baltimore City. Full performance level of work providing information technology support to staff members of a local election board. Employees in this classification coordinate maintenance and troubleshooting of election information systems and work in conjunction with State Board of Elections information technology staff, local government information technology staff, software vendors and contractors to resolve microcomputer hardware and software problems. Employees in this classification do not supervise. Employees receive general supervision from an Election Director or Election Deputy Director of a local election board. Employees may receive assignments and technical direction from the Chief Information Officer of the State Board of Elections. Employees may be required to work evenings, weekends and holidays and to travel to polling sites during Election Day. Employees in this classification are assigned to work in one or more local election board offices. Employees assigned to work in more than one local election board office will be required to travel between offices. Qualifications: Two years of experience in computer programming; implementing, troubleshooting or supporting local or wide area networks; installing and troubleshooting personal computers or evaluating, implementing or maintaining microcomputer hardware and software; 18 credit hours in computer information technology, programming or networking from an accredited college or university may be substituted for up to one year of the required experience; completion of a certification program in computer programming for personal computers, local or wide area networks or troubleshooting such as Microsoft Certified Professional or an equivalent program may be substituted for one year of the required experience; additional experience in computer programming; implementing, troubleshooting or supporting local or wide area networks; installing and troubleshooting personal computers or evaluating, implementing or maintaining personal computer hardware and software may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis. Salary: $35,568 – $60,222. Application: May be obtained by visiting our Web site at: www.dbm.maryland.gov; by writing to DBM, OPSB, Recruitment & Examination Division, 301 W. Preston Street Baltimore, Maryland 21201; or by calling 410-767-4850, toll-free: 800-705-3493; TTY users call Maryland Relay Service, 800-735-2258. Deadline:February 1.