A recent analysis of Maryland’s online voter registration system finds that new voters using the online system are slightly more likely to register as Republicans compared to those registering by paper. more

Pension problems, such as those in Arizona, are rooted in simple math, rather than in political ideology. Real pension reform is not easy. more

South Carolina’s touch-screen voting machines do not have voter-verified paper audit trails, and adding them would cost the state more than $17 million, found a report released by the South Carolina General Assembly Legislative Audit Council. Glenn McConnell, then president pro tempore of the state Senate, who had concerns about the reliability of the machines and the lack of a paper trail, requested the audit in 2012.
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A 2012 post-election report by the Mississippi secretary of state’s office shows that statewide, 1,285,584 ballots were cast in last year’s presidential election. Of those ballots, 106,722, or 8.3 percent, were absentee. Looking across the state’s 82 counties, however, the report found significant variation in the rate of absentee voting. more

With changes to federal tax expenditures under consideration, data showing the current geographic distribution of the mortgage interest deduction — one of the largest tax expenditures — are key to understanding how federal tax decisions would affect the states. These maps show that mortgage interest claim rates and average deductions vary widely both across and within states more