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Dollars and Amendments: Reviewing State Funding and County Charter Amendments
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
Dollars and Amendments: Reviewing State Funding and County Charter Amendments
While states are tasked with writing their own election laws so long as they meet HAVA requirements, the question remains as to whether a county may make additional mandates on election administrators beyond state laws. The EAC recently released its annual report on grants, which help states become compliant with HAVA. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Florida ruled on the constitutionality of county charter amendments, finding that counties may add supplemental requirements like more election audits and bans on specific voting systems.
Featured Resources
Ohio Senate Bill 8 | DECEMBER 2009
The Ohio State Senate approved legislation to reform various aspects of the elections process. Among the measures are enhancements to early voting rules, adoption of a matching system between voter registration files and driver’s license data, and compliance with the recently passed MOVE Act.
This report explores a range of dimensions of turnout in the 2008 election, including the relationship between early voting and election day registration and individuals going to the polls.
In response to a request by the Election Commission, the Hawaii Office of Elections produced this report outlining the plan for the 2010 elections. A focus of this report is the effect of the reduced budget for the office on staffing and the number of precincts which will be open for the elections.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of Sarasota County’s charter election law amendments, finding that state law does not bar individual counties from creating their own election laws.
This article explores the constitutionality of poll watcher statutes, arguing that laws permitting their presence at voting locations are permissible under the U.S. Constitution.
Research Projects
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.
FairVote develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels.
As part of its broader research focus on elections, campaign ethics, campaign finance, and the legislative process, the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland is engaged in research projects on voting technology and ballot design specifically.
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.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
www.aei.org
The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
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