Election Initiatives supports innovative research and partnerships to achieve the highest standards of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, convenience, and security in America’s system of election administration. Because effective elections systems are fundamental to our nation’s democracy, we examine pressing election problems, share successful practices, and undertake projects to help states implement efficient and cost-effective solutions.
Why Elections Systems Matter
American elections today operate much the way they did at the turn of the 20th century. Our work is aimed at modernizing elections systems, with a focus on three areas:
- Helping states improve voter registration systems, including maintaining accurate lists in a time of increased mobility;
- Collaborating with technology companies and state election offices to provide voters with easy access to official election information; and
- Strengthening research on election administration and developing data measures to provide an empirical assessment of how well our nation is conducting elections.
How We Conduct Our Work
- Policy Advocacy. In the states, we advocate for data-driven policies that make the best use of taxpayer resources while ensuring the highest standards of accuracy, convenience, security, and efficiency.
- Innovative Tools. We work with election officials, academics, and technology specialists to develop tools that help states streamline election processes and make the most of 21st-century technology.
- Research. We conduct policy-relevant research to identify areas of strength and weakness in current elections systems and to evaluate possible solutions. The findings help states improve the way elections are administered in the U.S.
- Information Sharing. Through events, online Election Data Dispatches, interactive graphics, and public appearances, we lead a national conversation on the importance of improved election systems. In doing so, we serve as a resource to state policy makers and election administrators making data-driven policy decisions.
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The LATEST from the Project
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- Opinion
- Election Initiatives
Fixing the Vote
State lawmakers should speed consideration of election reforms that would permit online voter registration, fight fraud, save money and spare Ohio from lawsuits in the 2012 national elections. more
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- Media Coverage
- Election Initiatives
O.C. Elections Office First With Money-saving Plan
The Pew Center on the States released a study this week showing how California elections offices could save hundreds of thousands of dollars. But if that’s news, it gets trumped by word that Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley had already embarked on the cost-saving path by the time the study came out.
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- Election Initiatives
The Cost of Delivering Voter Information
This March 2011study examined the costs of disseminating voter information in California’s 58 counties and identified opportunities to reduce spending without cutting essential services.
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- Election Initiatives
Pew's Elections Performance Index
The February 2011 Pew Elections Performance Index, describes an ongoing project to provide an empirical assessment of how well the nation’s elections are administered.
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- Media Coverage
- Election Initiatives
Bill Focuses on Upgrading Voter Registration in Maryland
Frederick County Sen. Ron Young hopes to modernize election registration by using more technology. Young, a Democrat, is proposing two bills relating to voter registration. more
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- Media Coverage
- Election Initiatives
N.C. GOP Lawmakers Determined to Pass Voter ID Bill
After years of arguments muted by Democrats, the newly installed Republican majority at the Legislature is resolute this year on expanding identification requirements before voters enter a polling booth. more
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- Election Initiatives
Moving Toward a Better Election System for Military and Overseas Voters
The Pew Center on the States’ Military and Overseas Citizen Voting Initiative aims to remove the obstacles facing military personnel and citizens living abroad to ensure they can exercise their right to vote—no matter where they may be around the world.
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- Election Initiatives
The Cost of Statewide Recounts
As part of its work to help build high-performing states, the Pew Center on the States commissioned a case study on two recent, high-profile statewide races that underwent recounts: the 2004 Washington state governor’s race and the 2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate race.
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- Election Initiatives
Residual Voting in Florida
This October 2010 report described a project that examined the residual vote rates in the state of Florida’s 2008 presidential preference primary, taking advantage of a state law that, for a time, required all jurisdictions to report over- and under-votes at the precinct level.
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- Election Initiatives
Voter Registration Data Accuracy
This July 2010 report revealed a voter registration system that was not serving America’s increasingly mobile voters. Trapped by the confines of an antiquated, paper-based system, election administrators did not have the necessary tools to improve the accuracy of the data in their state voter registration rolls.
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