US Vote Blog

No pretty infographic or careful structuring of the informational can hide the tragic fact that even in the last General Election Year of 2012, the OVERSEAS VOTER TURNOUT = 4%. Or, maybe up to 5% in a General Election year.

With the millions invested by the states and the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)to run the overseas voting program, and with all that has been invested in civic technology by our foundation as well.... That's it? Yes, that is it.

Even with the improvements in technology and communications to date, we have not solved the real problems behind the low participation rate of this voting block. We need to expand our thinking on what is holding back participation. Five Proposed Overseas and Military Voting Reforms follow.

The November 8, 2016 Presidential Election is on track to be a historical one with a campaign unlike anything the country has ever seen before, a major party’s first female candidate, and a growing number of people pledging to vote for a third party. It’s undeniable that the stakes are high, and as...

U.S. Vote Foundation’s Election Official Directory (EOD) is a crowd-sourced database with 7,825 extensive records. The “crowd” comprises Local Election Officials (LEOs) across the US who regularly update their jurisdiction contact data.

In 2010, the foundation began tracking response rates to update requests that go to LEOs. In the last five years since, the response rate to the update requests doubled from 30 percent to 60 percent. This is a story of dedication in pursuit of an idea and its implementation.

Vote Smart has re-launched its award-winning voter-to-candidate matching tool, VoteEasy, to its website VoteSmart.org. Often times, voters are simply not exposed to their candidates’ true beliefs. Data such as voting records or interest group ratings are buried underneath webs of political rhetoric. Vote Smart, and particularly VoteEasy, exists to counter that rhetoric. This interactive tool gives voters nation-wide the opportunity to identify which candidates best align with their political beliefs. As you answer questions on 13 national issues, you will watch Presidential candidates move closer or further away, depending on how closely the candidates’ political stances align with your own.

If you question the accuracy of the candidate's positions, or would like more information on a displayed candidate, simply click on the candidate’s photo and get their factual record which includes their Political Courage Test answers, Key Votes, public statements, and more.

The three-day Ruby for Good hack-a-thon is “dedicated to making the world gooder”. This year the Ruby for Good beneficiaries includes US Vote. The Ruby for Good event brings skilled Ruby programmers from all over the world together and forms teams that take on software projects that will help...

US Vote is pleased to announce Ms. Marcia Blanco-Johnson, Ms. Dana Chisnell and Ms. Clarissa Martínez-De-Castro as new members of our Advisory Board. These three seasoned voting and elections professionals will contribute strongly to US Vote’s mission and direction as we aim to further solidify our...

The Future of Voting interactive presentation and workshop will be a 4-city roadshow that takes place starting 28 May - 3 June, 2015. Each event will be a 3-hour session designed to engage local and state election officials and legislators in a discussion about End-to-End verifiable internet voting.

The technical and project managers of the End-to-End Verifiable Internet Voting: Specification and Feasibility Study (E2E VIV Project) with be your hosts. The project was funded by a grant from the Democracy Fund in support of a research-based approach to the unanswered question of whether remote absentee voting can be conducted securely online.

This blog post has been written by Donald S. Inbody summarizing his article featured in the 'Election Law Journal'. Mr. Inbody's article discusses the implications of current election law on overseas and military voters and the struggles these demographics face when attempting to vote in elections:

Over a quarter of a million American citizens who lived overseas or were members of the American military attempted to vote in the 2012 General Election but were unable to be counted. The reasons for their failure are many, but antiquated absent voting procedures and arbitrary rules and deadlines are largely to blame. Increased use of modern technology, including the internet, will help.

Interest in making sure that Americans living abroad and service personnel located away from their homes can vote is at an all-time high. It is the rare public official who will make statements that might be perceived as advocating the disenfranchisement of someone in the armed services.

Just 36.6% of eligible citizens voted in the 2014 midterm elections, the lowest in a midterm since World War II, but turnout varied across states by as much as 30 percentage points. A new report by Nonprofit VOTE, America Goes to the Polls 2014, ranks voter turnout in all 50 states and looks at major factors underlying voter participation. It also details successful strategies employed by high voter turnout states.

For example, states with Election Day Registration (EDR) had the highest voter participation rates averaging 48%, 12 points higher than the turnout in states without it. Seven of the top 10 turnout states have EDR. None of the bottom 10 turnout states have EDR.