In Focus This Week
NOTE: Beginning in June, electionlineWeekly will shift to a new e-mail delivery format. This will allow us to offer you a cleaner design and new features.
Because we value your privacy, we ask that you re-subscribe to the newsletter (we won’t be automatically subscribing you). To do this, please visit: http://www.patronmail.com/pmailweb/PatronSetup?oid=1675 .
Later this month, we will email electionlineWeekly through two e-mail delivery systems (the old and the new). As a result, some of you may receive duplicate mailings through May (we will make every effort to avoid this). Our transition will be complete as of June, so sign up soon!
Election Monitoring and Research at Polls Shed Light on How Americans Vote
Washington, D.C. — A report released today 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. “Dispatches from the Polls” finds that, while various groups observe elections for a number of reasons, the information gained from the efforts can help to create a deeper understanding of shortcomings and successes in election administration.
“It has been said that ‘you can observe a lot just by watching,’” noted Doug Chapin, director of electionline.org. “That simple truth is now asserting itself in the field of elections as more and more individuals and groups are finding that in-person observation is a potentially powerful tool in the study of how, when and where Americans cast their ballots.”
In “Dispatches from the Polls,” electionline.org highlights a growing interest on the part of academics, journalists, advocates and political parties to gain a better understanding of the election process through observation. Observers have varied motivations: Partisan groups want to create conditions favorable to their candidates, for example, while advocacy groups hope to further an agenda through studies confirming their hypotheses. Still, their collective findings have the potential to expand what is known about how elections are carried out in precincts around the country.
The report offers a case study of a recent effort by graduate students at the University of California-Berkeley to study waiting times during an election in the state. Using volunteers with checklists and stop watches, the researchers undertook a low-cost yet eye-opening observation of how long it took voters to cast ballots using a number of different machine types in a variety of precincts.
Additional findings include:
- Partisan poll-watching efforts, including the Democrats’ so-called “army of lawyers” and the more decentralized Republican monitoring efforts, track compliance with federal language requirements, voter ID rules and voter complaints. Those observations have led to better adherence to state and federal laws on Election Day and can start to provide a better understanding of why problems occur at particular polling places.
- The Associated Press’ exit pollsters, stringers and reporters can quickly publicize problems from around the country, as well as filter second-hand reports of problems by providing nonpartisan and politically neutral observation.
- Interest groups that collect anecdotes from voters via hotlines, Web sites or on-site volunteers can illuminate the magnitude of machine troubles or other Election-Day issues that can be used for later study and problem solving.
The report, the 22nd in a series of election reform issue briefs and case studies, is available at http://electionline.org. To request a printed copy, please contact media@electionline.org.
Correction: The May 8 newsletter story “Vote center receives mostly high marks in Tippecanoe County, Ind.” incorrectly stated the manufacturer of Tippecanoe County’s electronic poll books. The software used by the county was developed by DelMar Information Technologies.
Election Reform News This Week
West Virginia held its long awaited primary on Tuesday and for the most part, it went off without a hitch (or glitch) in the Mountain State. Of course that doesn’t mean it was exactly smooth sailing on Tuesday with sporadic reports of lines due to high turnout, a handful of voters not being listed on the voting rolls and in Fayette County, a power outage threatened to have all polling places in the dark, but in the end, only one had to run off a generator. In addition the presidential primary and other local races, Mountaineers also selected candidates to replace outgoing Secretary of State Betty Ireland. Natalie Tennant will represent the Democrats and, Charles Minimah, will represent the Republicans in November. After this week’s West Virginia presidential primary, there are only five Democratic contests remaining and two Republican contests.
Yes California, there is another primary election. It seems that after the February 5 presidential primary, folks in California forgot that they still needed to vote in local primaries on June 3. “People see signs and they come in to our office and ask what kind of election we’re having,” elections official Crystal Bertheau told the Mercury News. “One person called to complain about getting a ballot, thinking he’d received a second February ballot.” This year is the first time California has held two primaries in one year since 1940, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination for an unprecedented third time. “This may be the lowest election turnout in state history,” Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies told the paper. “We’ll be lucky if we get double digits.” And of course, California is not alone. Two dozen other states and the District of Columbia will hold dual primary contests this year — in addition to the general election in November.
News from beyond the grave on two fronts this week. In South Dakota, 88-year-old Florence Steen cast her absentee ballot for Hillary Clinton, however Ms. Steen passed away on Sunday and unlike a handful of other states, South Dakota does not permit absentee ballots of the recently deceased to be counted. On the other side of the country, Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz (D) announced this week that after an exhaustive three-week review, the voting rolls in the Nutmeg State no longer contain any deceased residents. “Three weeks ago I asked local elections officials to step up to the plate and investigate. They responded quickly and effectively to clean up the voter rolls,” Bysiewicz said in a statement. “Since April 20th, at the direction of my office, over 4,700 names of the deceased have been removed. This was a necessary act and major effort to ensure that integrity and security of November’s election.”
Opinions This Week
National: Vote fraud; Voter ID, II, III
Alabama: Voter registration
California: Paper ballots
Florida: Vote count; Voter registration
Georgia: Election process
Indiana: Lake County; Voter ID, II; Primary election, II; Vote centers
Kansas: Voter ID
Montana: Primary election
Nevada: English-only
New Jersey: November elections
Oklahoma: Voter ID
South Dakota: Exit polling
Texas: Election process
Utah: Daggett County
Virginia: Vote-by-mail
West Virginia: Primary system
**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 Administrative Assistant, Harford County, Md.– An Election Administrative Assistant I is the full performance level of administrative support work related to a variety of technical or secretarial services in a local election office. Employees working in the technical areas perform administrative functions not involving policy decisions but requiring a thorough knowledge of the specific functions performed. Employees perform a variety of complex secretarial duties requiring a thorough knowledge of election laws, rules and procedures. Employees in this classification do not supervise but may provide training and guidance to Election Clerks and other support staff. Employees receive general supervision from an Election Director, Election Deputy Director or other designated administrative staff and are expected to exercise considerable tact, discretion and judgment in all areas of work. Matters of confidentiality are given close attention by the supervisor. The work may require travel to schools, nursing homes or other facilities to register voters or provide related services. Employees may be required to work evenings and weekends, particularly prior to and following an election. Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate; one year of experience applying election laws, rules and procedures in a local board of elections office. Salary: $26,257 to $40,996. Application: May be obtained by visiting our Web site; 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: May 29, 2008