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Partnering with Motor Vehicle Offices and Public Assistance Agencies
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
Partnering with Motor Vehicle Offices and Public Assistance Agencies
Modernizing the process of voter registration requires coordination between election officials, motor vehicle offices, and public assistance agencies. Three states have already begun implementing their own modernization process, as highlighted by a Project Vote memo. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Dēmoswith public assistance agencies in 40 states plus the District of Columbia probed the feasibility of using these agencies’ databases as the source for low-income citizens’ voter registration information. The results from these two studies demonstrate that upgrading the methods by which states collect and maintain voter registration rolls is not only less costly for the state but also easier than some might expect.
Featured Resources
The Indiana Election Division published its Outreach Library for the 2010 elections. Among the resources available for both voters and election officials are guides for military and overseas voters, voter identification requirement outlines, and a handbook for election officials.
This report provides an overview of reform proposals growing out of a summit convened by Ohio's Secretary of State to examine comprehensively the state's entire election system.
Rather than submit a provisional ballot, some unregistered voters are able to both register and vote on Election Day. Same Day Registration has been enacted in nine states and the District of Columbia. This memo explores this policy’s effect on turnout.
The Election Assistance Commission recently published its eighth report on implementation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which focused on the administration of the November 2006 and November 2008 elections.
The Research Database on the U.S. Voting System and Voting Technology provides access to empirical and analytical research about voting and elections to inform evidence-based reforms.
Research Projects
Dēmos is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2000. A multi-issue national organization, Dēmoscombines research, policy development, and advocacy to influence public debates and catalyze change.
Election Law @ Moritz, run through Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, contains both explanation and commentary on a wealth of election reform issues from a legal perspective.
Center for Democracy & Election Management was established at the School of Public Affairs at American University in 2002. Their broader goal is to pave the way for and strengthen democracy through improved electoral performance.
Project Vote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that works to empower, educate, and mobilize low-income, minority, youth, and other marginalized and under-represented voters.
electionline.org provides daily news updates on election reform issues, as well as deeper analysis of selected topics, including recent reports on voter registration, recount procedures, and the progress in implementing the Help America Vote Act since 2002.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
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The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
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