Election Articles from The Canvass
 

The Canvass, a newsletter for state legislators and legislative staff that follows election news and trends, has been published by NCSL since 2008.  The back issues are all available.  In addition, key articles from those back issues have been indexed by topic below, including an "Odds & Ends" category.

Within the topic, articles are organized in reverse chronological order, with the most recent article at the top.

Please note that if a page number is included in the list below, the link will open a pdf and the article of interest can be found by moving to the appropriate page. In cases where the page number isn't included, the document will open to the article itself.

Best Practices

• Customer Service for Elections, April 2013
• Measuring Elections: Data, Not Anecdotes (including the Elections Performance Index), March 2013
• Ballot Access (for Candidates and Parties), February 2012
• Ballot Design Matters, October 2011
• Colorado Considers Elections, June 2011
• Field Tripping--to Your Local Elections Office, June 2011
• Tennessee & Ohio Enact Bipartisan Election Reform, July 2008

Cost Concerns

• Efficiency in Elections with Zach Markovits, September 2011
• Elections and the Economy, February 2011
• Vote by Mail: Fiscally Fashionable?, July 2010
• The Real Cost of Voter Registration: Oregon Case Study, March 2010
• EAC Promotes Cost-Saving Practices for Election Management, June 2009
• Fiscal Notes, March 2011

Court Opinions

• Elections and the Courts: A Busy Year, October 2012
• Supreme Court Upholds Indiana's Photo ID Law, July 2010
• Califorinia Voters Approve Moving to a Top-Two Primary, June 2010
• Challenges to Felon Voting Laws Yield Conflicting Rulings, March 2010
• Indiana Court Strikes Down Photo ID Requirement, October 2009
• Supreme Court Rule Near on Indiana Photo ID Law, April 2008, p. 6

Disabilities/Nursing Home Voting

• State Voting Laws and the Mentally Disabled, June 2010

Election Outcomes & Analysis

• Predictions for 2012 from Elections Experts, January 2012
• Election Challenges with Doug Lewis, September 2011
• Election Season Gets Longer and Longer, December 2010
• Elections Change How Some of Us Vote, December 2010
• 10 Years Since the FL. Election Meltdown: Could It Happen Again?, August  2010
• 2008 Election Recap, January 2009
• Statistical Update on State Election Legislation, July 2008
• Record Turnout Seems Inevitable: Plan Now or React Later?, April 2008, p. 3
• 2007 Recap, April 2008, p. 5

Federal Requirements

• Minority Language Requirements Decline, November/December 2011
• What is Section 5?, October 2011
• DOJ Releases Guidelines for "Motor Voter" Act, August 2010

Felons and Voting

• Felon Voting Rights, January 2009, p. 10

MOVE/Military and Overseas Voting

• MOVE Act Waivers, February 2012
• Who's Complying with MOVE?, February 2011
• Legislative Summit 2010: Voting by Military & Overseas Citizens, August 2010
• Uniform Law Commission's Model Act for Overseas Legislation, August 2010 
• States Confront Military and Overseas Ballot Mandates, December 2009
• WV Enacts Pilot Program for Online Voting for Military & Overseas, December 2009
• State Military & Overseas Voting Legislation Advances, June 2009
• Arizona leads the Way as Military & Overseas e-voting gains, March 2009
• Alliance for Military & Overseas Voting Rights Formed, March 2009, p. 11
• UOCAVA Report, January 2009, p. 8
• Addressing the Critical Need for Reform of Military & Overseas Voting, January 2009, p. 7
• Only Half of States Give M & O Voters Time to Vote, January 2009, p. 9
• Exploring a Uniform System for Military and Overseas Voters, August 2008, p. 4

Odds and Ends

• Recalls, Details for the Curious, May 2012, p. 4
• Cast Ballots, April 2012
• Ballot Readability, February 2012
• National Popular Vote, September 2011
• Interviews with Donetta Davidson, U.S. EAC Commissioner, and Gracia Hillman, former U.S. EAC Commissioner, March 2011Election Observers, February 2011
• Virgina Helps Voters Find Polling Place with Google Gadget, March 2010
• Interview with Stan Appel, Iowa Chair of State Government Committee, October 2009
• Straight-Ticket Voting Case in Texas, June 2009
• Straight-Ticket Voting, March 2009, p. 12
• Non-Resident Property Owners and Voting, October 2008
• Emergencies Happen, August 2008
• Voting on Sunday?, August 2008, p. 7
• Schools and Library Safety on Election Day, July 2008, p. 7

Primaries

• Primaries, Caucuses, Conventions...Oh My! November/December 2011
• A Primer on Primaries, May 2011
• More on California's Top Two, July 2010
• Top Two Primaries Approved by California Voters, June 2010
• Top Two Primary to "Round Two" in Federal District Court, October 2009
• Top Two Primaries: Supreme Court Upholds WA System, April 2008, p. 9

Poll Work

• Poll Workers: Everybody's Concern, May 2012, p. 1
• Poll Work: Making the Job Easier, October 2008, p. 5
• How Poll Workers Shape Public Confidence in Elections, October 2008, p. 5

Post-Election Audits

• Post-Election Audits: The FAQs, September 2012
• Post-Election Audit of Optical Scan Reveals Concerns (University of Connecticut), June 2009
• Post Election Audits: University of New Mexico Study, October 2008, p. 4

Research Reports

• State Election Webpages: Being Online is Not Enough, February 2012
• Recourse to Recounts?, June 2011
• Voter Opinions About Election Reform (CalTech/MIT), August 2010
• AEI-Brookings Election Reform Report: Hope & Experience, July 2010
• Online Voter Registration: AZ and WA Show Cost Savings, June 2010
• Alternative Voting Methods: Seven Pew Reports, June 2010
• The Real Cost of Voter Registration: Oregon Case Study, March 2010
• Young Voters Find Convenience in Election Day Registration, October 2009
•  Public Attitudes on State Election Law Studied (U of Missouri), June 2009
• "No Time to Vote": States Don't Give Time for Military & Overseas, January 2009, p. 9
• Optical Scan v. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, August 2008, p. 8
• "Trust But Verify" Electronic Voting Systems, April 2008, p. 12

Voting Equipment

• E-Voting Equipment on the Decline, January 2009, p. 11
• Optical Scan v. Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail, August 2008, p. 8
• What Should States Do About Voting Equipment?, April 2008
• "Trust But Verify" Electronic Voting Systems, April 2008, p. 12

Vote by Mail

• Vote by Mail: Fiscally Fashionable?, July 2010

Voter ID

• The Minnesota-Nevada Approach to Voter Check-In, April 2013
• Voter ID: Five Considerations, November-December 2012
• Voter ID: Where are We Now?, April 2012
• Variation in Voter Verification, January 2011
• DOJ Denies GA Voter Verification Pre-Clearance (Again), December 2009
• Indiana Court Strikes Down Photo ID Requirement, October 2009
• Georgia Asks DOJ to Reconsider Voter Verification Pre-Clearance, October 2009
• Georgia Enacts Proof of Citizenship Legislation, June 2009
• Supreme Court Upholds Indiana Photo ID, May 2008
• Supreme Court and Photo ID, April 2008, p. 4
• Variations in Voter ID Legislation, August 2011

Voter Registration

• Voter List Maintenance, Why, How and When, July/August 2012
• The Cost of Inaccuracy: Voter Registration Examined, March 2012
• Registration Conversations, Recapped (online registration and registration modernization), October 2011
• Online Voter Registration: Coming to a State Near You?, June 2011
• Third-Party Registration Drives, June 2011
• "Motor Voter" Act Guidelines, August 2010
• Online Voter Registration: AZ and WA Show Cost Savings, June 2010
• The Real Cost of Voter Registration: Oregon Case Study, March 2010
• Registration Reform: States Target Voter Rolls, December 2009
• Voter Registration "Modernization" Coming to a State Near You?, October 2009
• Young Voters Find Convenience in Election Day Registration, October 2009
• Registration "Modernization" Proposals Take Center Stage, June 2009

Voting Options

• Alternative Voting Methods: Seven Pew Reports, June 2010
• "Time-Shifting" the Vote: Conference Recap, December 2009
• Pre-Election Day voting: Just the FAQs, Ma'am, March 2011
• Vote Centers Come of Age, August 2011

Technology

• Online Voting: Not Ready for Prime Time? February 2013
• Electronic Poll-books, November/December 2011
• Virginia Helps Voters Find Polling Place With Google Gadget, March 2010
• WV Enacts Pilot Program for Online Voting for Military & Overseas, December 2009
• Update on the Voting Information Project, July 2008, p. 6