State of Elections

By Jane Miller

 

The United States Census Bureau reports that Americans aged 18-24 have the lowest voter registration rate of any age group.  Only 53.6% of U.S. citizens in that age group were registered to vote as of November 2012.  By contrast, more than 79% of citizens aged 65 and older were registered.  These disparate numbers raise questions about the health of our nation’s civic culture and the fairness of our elections, a concern so real it made it into an episode of The West Wing. [Read more…] about “You Can’t Blame the Youth (For No Longer Pre-Registering to Vote in North Carolina)”

By Ann Zachariah

 

The victor in Virginia’s attorney general race was up in the air well into December.  Localities had until November 12 to turn in the results of the contest between Sen. Mark Obenshain and Sen. Mark Herring.  One of the delays in declaring a winner arose from a problem in Fairfax County, where a discrepancy in absentee votes was uncovered.  In the 8^th District in Fairfax County, only 50 percent of absentee ballots that were requested were cast compared to 88 percent in the 10^th District and 86 percent in the 11^th District. [Read more…] about Canvassing, Contests, and Recounts, oh my! Rejected Absentee Votes in Virginia’s Attorney General’s Race

By Brad Smith

Fusion voting, or collateral endorsement, is the process through which a candidate for public office can be listed as the candidate for more than one party. This process was very common in thenineteenth century, although today it is an uncommon practice, and New York Is the only state where fusion voting has a noticeable impact. In recent months, however, New York politicians have debated the usefulness and wisdom of the practice. [Read more…] about Fusion Voting in the Empire State

By Michael Althouse

When people discuss Oregon’s vote by mail system, it is usually credited as a reason for a high voter turnout.  Although Oregon has generally  had higher voter turnouts than the rest of the nation since the passage of mandatory vote by mail, correlation does not necessarily equal causation.  Recent studies have called into question whether vote by mail is responsible for the increased voter turnouts.  If it turns out that vote by mail does little or nothing to increase voter turnout, what is the future of vote by mail?  Are there any other benefits to having the good ol’ United States Post Office drop off your ballot? [Read more…] about Vote By Mail: More about Stability than Turnouts