Worth Noting - Election Reform News from the States
Significant Leap Forward in Serving Military and Overseas Voters
Five state election offices (Alabama, Kentucky, Minnesota, West Virginia and Ohio), leading corporations (such as Exxon Mobil) and political campaigns have automated the complex and confusing process of registering to vote and requesting absentee ballots for military and overseas civilians by adopting a new set of Web applications pioneered by the Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF). The state election offices in Missouri, Vermont and Texas should come online within the next few months. With support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, OVF launched the user-friendly, accessible online system in the fall of 2007 (see http://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/) and began licensing it directly to states seeking to better serve service members and civilians around the globe. For information about opportunities for your state to participate in OVF’s State Alliance program, click here or contact Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat at susan@overseasvotefoundation.org or Dan Murphy at dan@overseasvotefoundation.org. O
State Election Officials Asked to Help Make Info for Voters Easier to Find Through New Online Resource
Doug Chapin, the Director of http://www.electionline.org/, has brought to our attention a very important online resource for people seeking basic answers to their voter registration questions. Americans are often looking for easy answers to three basic questions:
- How and where do I find out if I'm registered to vote?
- Where do I vote?
- What's on the ballot?
The Voting Information Project, an exciting new joint endeavor of Google, the JEHT Foundation, and Pew’s Make Voting Work, aims to answer these questions clearly and conveniently for Americans at home and abroad. Although this information has always been publicly available, it isn't always located in a place voters could commonly find. The Voting Information Project seeks to help election officials make their official voting information accessible to voters using a common, open, non-proprietary data format that is simple and user-friendly. Accordingly, the project launched votinginfoproject.org, where legislators and election officials can learn about participating in the effort.
For questions or to find out if your officials are participating, contact Doug Chapin at (202)552-2027 or dchapin@electionline.org. Don't miss this opportunity to help voters. O
Bill Introduced in Congress to Mandate Federal Election Day Registration
On May 1, 2008 Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota introduced "The Election Day Registration Act," Senate Bill 2959, which would amend the Help America Vote Act to require states to provide for election day registration on all days of federal elections. The bill has 4 cosponsors to date. Companion legislation (H.R. 5946), introduced in the U.S. House by Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has 15 cosponsors. Wisconsin and Minnesota are two of the 9 states that currently authorize same day registration. Both states have had election day registration for more than 30 years. O
Hawaii Legislature Passes Legislation to Authorize Permanent, No-excuse Absentee Voting
On May 1 the Hawaii legislature passed a conference committee report to enact Senate Bill 156, sponsored by Senator Clayton Hee. SB 156 provides that a voter who requests an absentee ballot (in person or in writing) may also request to receive absentee ballots automatically for all future elections. The legislation included appropriations for implementation and administration up to the amount of $575,000 from the state's 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds. In addition, the bill appropriated up to $35,000 from general revenues as may be necessary for the required 5% state matching funds needed to qualify for the HAVA funding. On May 7, the legislation was submitted to the governor. At press time no action has been taken by the governor, who has 45 days from the date the legislature adjourned (May 1) to sign the bill. For a state-by-state analysis of absentee voting laws, please see Absentee Voting and Early Voting at ncsl.org. Hawaii will likely become just the fifth state along with California, Colorado, Montana and Washington to allow permanent, no-excuse absentee status for voters. A table on the excellent early voting website at Reed College shows the no-excuse, permanent absentee states. O
Another State Embraces Overhaul of Electoral College
On May 1, Hawaii became the fourth state to adopt the National Popular Vote (NPV) interstate compact. Hawaii passed NPV legislation in 2007, but the legislation was vetoed by the governor. It was reintroduced in January 2008 as Senate Bill 2898, sponsored by Senator Clayton Hee, and again the legislature passed the bill. In April, it was once again vetoed by the governor. This time, however, both Houses approved an override. NPV bills enter a state into an interstate compact and pledge that all of that state's electoral votes will go to the national popular vote winner. NPV would only take effect if states with a majority of the electoral votes (270) have passed similar legislation. Hawaii joins Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois as members of the interstate compact. Combined, the four states represent a total of 50 electoral votes -- more than one-sixth of the 270 votes necessary for the law to take effect. For complete information about the effort, go to: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/. O
Top Election Experts Preview Issues that might Vex Election Officials in November and Legislatures Next January
At the April meeting of NCSL's Redistricting and Elections Committee, legislators and staff able to attend the conference in Washington heard two of the nation's top experts on election issues discuss what may crop up in the fall election that will lead to legislative attention in January 2009. Doug Chapin, director of electionline.org based in Washington, D.C. and Alison Prevost from the Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University, also in Washington, spoke to the group. They listed various issues to watch including voting technology, voter registration lists, voter ID, pollworker training and standardization of voting practices. You can listen to a complete podcast of the session by going here on NCSL's website. O
Contact:
NCSL
E.S.L.E.R Project
Elections Section
7700 East First Place
Denver, CO 80230
(303) 364-7700
elections-info@ncsl.org
www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/elect/ESLER_Overview.htm
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