State of Elections

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Open Up Elections With Proportional Voting

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guest blog by Elise Helgesen and Rob Richie of FairVote

The battle over legislative redistricting in states around the country this year provides strong evidence of the failure of winner-take-all elections in single-member districts in modern America. In these districts huge numbers of people will, by design, be left feeling that they are without meaningful political representation – and without a realistic chance to change it.

Although seen as the norm in the United States, winner-take-all elections invite computer-facilitated partisan gerrymandering. The power to gerrymander districts is grounded in the simple fact that, given most voters’ strong opinions about the two major parties, outcomes are predictable in any district that leans more than 55% for one party. That makes it easy to make seats “safe,” especially given natural differences in voter opinion in different areas [Read more…] about Open Up Elections With Proportional Voting

Pennsylvania House Bill 934: Friend or Foe

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by Latisha Woodford

Voter fraud is the illegal interference with the process of an election  the Pennsylvanian House Bill  934 purports to remedy voter fraud.  It could be argued, however, that the Bill itself interferes with the election process. Pennsylvania House Bill 934 imposes what can be viewed as a barrier to eligible voting citizens.  This notion was further explained in an interview with Mrs. Sandy Strauss, the Director of Public Advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches.

The mission of the Council is much broader than the mission for the Council’s advocacy component. Mrs. Strauss describes their advocacy ministry as empowering people of faith, through education and skill-building, to make a difference for the common good in the public square; while advocating on behalf of the Council’s member church bodies before Pennsylvania’s legislative and administrative branches of government. The Council is governed by a set of principles called the “Principles for Public Advocacy.” These principles are based on scriptural interpretation and determine the position taken by the Council’s twenty member denominations at the national level. The latest draft of a revised set of existing principles say: [Read more…] about Pennsylvania House Bill 934: Friend or Foe

Idaho localities sue over redistricting

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by Daniel Page

Idaho’s redistricting problems seem far from over. Several localities are less than pleased with the second redistricting commission’s adopted plan. Several Counties, county commissioners, and cities, including Twin Falls County, Teton County, and Owyhee County have collectively sued the redistricting commission and the Secretary of State. The plaintiffs are complaining because of map L87, which divides the state into 35 districts, each of which may elect two representatives and one senator. Each of these localities dislikes the way the lines were drawn because it divides the localities and combines them with other localities, diluting the plaintiffs’ votes.

Idaho districts

In a 2002 case called Bingham County v. Idaho Commission for Reapportionment, Idaho recognized that under Brown v. Thomson, any redistricting plan with a deviation of more than 10% was prima facie violative of the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. In that case, the Idaho Supreme Court stated: [Read more…] about Idaho localities sue over redistricting

A look at election websites state by state

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by Jim Ogorzalek

The Internet has increasingly become the main source of information for many Americans. Indeed, many errands we once accomplishedwith a car or a postage stamp are now done simply with a few clicks of the mouse. As Americans have grown more dependent upon sites such as Amazon and Netflix, it stands to reason that they are also increasingly more likely to seek out information regarding their civic duties using the Internet.

Because of this ever-growing dependence upon the Web, it is more important than ever that government institutions engage voters online. While analysts, politicians, and many others have been busy discussing online voting for years, few have taken stock of where state governments are right now when it comes to communicating with voters online. If Internet voting ever does become commonplace in the American electoral landscape, it is only logical that it would come after other necessary steps in the voting process like Internet registration and Internet absentee applications. Before any of those technological advances in the voting process, it makes sense that a state must first determine how to properly communicate information online and create logical ways to access the functionality the state already enlists. In the spirit of calls for what Heather Gerken has termed a “Democracy Index” of how well states run elections, this post attempts to survey states’ online voter information sites to assess where things stand. [Read more…] about A look at election websites state by state

Voter identification laws in New Hampshire: continuing the national debate

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In September 2011, New Hampshire state senators failed to override the gubernatorial veto of Senate Bill No. 129, which would have imposed identification requirements on New Hampshire voters. More specifically, the Bill would have required voters to present a valid voter identification (as specified in the Bill) on Election Day before being able to cast their ballots. For those voters without valid IDs on Election Day, the Bill granted them the ability to vote using a provisional ballot with the requirement that the voter show his or her official ID two-and-a-half days later. According to one source, the proposed law would have been “one of the most regressive voter photo ID laws in the nation,” and Governor John Lynch (D) claimed that the Bill would “create a real risk that voters would be denied their right to vote.” To support his veto, Gov. Lynch pointed to the positive state of elections in New Hampshire, specifically high voter turnout, the absence of fraud issues, and strong election laws, and he relied upon those reasons – among others – to justify not needing a strict voter identification law in New Hampshire.   [Read more…] about Voter identification laws in New Hampshire: continuing the national debate