Blog

  • Do You Know the Date of Your Next Local Election?

    By Gavin Weise, U.S. Vote Foundation Civic Data Team

    While the race for the White House and Congress gripped the nation in 2016, participation in – and even awareness of – local elections in the US has significantly declined in recent years, to an estimated average of 20% of registered voters. Voter turnout in special elections for vacant state and local offices is often in the single digits.

    Ironically, these local elections concern the offices and issues that have clear and immediate implications for voters in their day-to-day lives – arguably more so than federal contests. Such elections are not only for mayors and council positions, but also local judges, sheriffs, clerks, school board members and other officials. Local elections also include community issues that are put directly to voters – through various ballot measures and initiatives.

  • The Hidden American “Never Resided” Voter

    Are you an American born abroad – a US citizen despite the fact that you never lived in the US? And does that mean you can cast a ballot in US elections? The answer is yes for some of you, and no, for others. How can that be?

    A new policy brief from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) clarifies how state laws affect the voting eligibility of Americans who were born abroad but have never resided in the United States.  FVAP refers to members of this unique group as “never resided” voters. In 2016, they seem to have become a vocal group – voicing their complaints in writing to the FVAP, the Pentagon agency whose mission it is to implement the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

    A key factor for determining an overseas citizens’ voting eligibility is whether they meet the residency requirements of the state in which they are seeking to vote. For a “never resided” voter, their “Voting Address” is determined by their parent’s last address in the US.  If their parents are from two different states, then the “never resided” voter can choose in which state they wish to vote. Imagine the decision if one parent’s last address was in Nevada and the other’s in Florida. FVAP exposes that in this case, the decision is actually made for the voter, because Nevada accepts a “never resided” voter, and Florida does not.

  • Resolution by Dissolution?

    The Aftermath of House Resolution 634,
    The Election Assistance Commission Termination Act, and the Future of the EAC

    By Genya Coulter, Twitter Goddess and Social Media Liaison at U.S. Vote Foundation

    On February 7, 2017, the Committee on House Administration voted 6-3 in favor of dismantling the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC).[1] This vote was not without controversy, since the EAC was created in 2002 to serve as the lone bipartisan federal oversight panel for state run elections.

    The EAC provides testing and certification for multiple voting technologies with the cooperation of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), determines grants and funding for election administration, standards for assisting disabled voters, updates voting machine technology, guides state and local election administrators with any number of election and voting matters, establishes “best practices” for states and counties to build upon, gathers data for government and public use, and perhaps most importantly, maintains voter rolls.

    When the Committee on House Administration announced their vote, many election administrators and voting rights advocates quickly noted that without the EAC, they are without a designated federal body to certify voting equipment.[2] Many recent groundbreaking innovations including electronic poll books, expanded Vote-By-Mail, automatic voter registration, increased access for the disabled, and others, would languish without consistent communication and guidance from the Commission.

  • As Seen in GovTech.com - Using Tech, Data to Increase Voter Turnout

    This article is by Adam Stone, Contributing Writer at GovTech.com. The article appeared on February 13, 2017. To see the original article on the GovTech.com website, please visit: http://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/Using-Tech-Data-to-Increase-Voter-Tur...

    To combat low voter turnout in local elections, the U.S. Vote Foundation is using data to improve those numbers by making polling information more easily available to voters.

    They say “all politics is local,” and maybe that’s true, but not when it comes to actual local politics. In the elections that come closest to home, most people haven’t got a clue.

    Turnout in local elections runs low, ranging from 27 to 34 percent, according to recent research. As a result, “important public policy decisions are being made without the input of most of the affected residents,” researchers note.

    The U.S. Vote Foundation is looking to technology to improve the situation by making a range of polling information available to broad audiences of voters and groups that work to enable voting.

    “These are the elections that impact people the most, and they are opting out because they don’t have access to the information,” said President and CEO Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat. “Data is the key that will unlock the door to what has been obscured to our citizens for a long time.”

  • Time for Act II of the MOVE Act

    Five Proposed Overseas and Military Voting Reforms

    By Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, President and CEO, U.S. Vote Foundation

    Rarely does the first iteration of a law translate legislative intent into implementation flawlessly and durably. The legislative process allows us to correct, improve or update laws as needed in our changing times. It’s an ongoing process, and one we should embrace!

    A new round of legislative reform is needed to ensure that the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and its progeny continue to play a vital role. In 2009, the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) was passed as a much-needed, bipartisan reform to UOCAVA; and it has served as a mechanism to modernize key aspects of UOCAVA. The MOVE Act’s creation was informed by years of research, including work by U.S. Vote Foundation’s (US Vote) Overseas Vote initiative (formerly Overseas Vote Foundation), and it has been demonstrably successful in accelerating the transition to online methods for most overseas and military voting processes across all states.

  • "Infrastructurally" Sound?

    A brief look at the changing face of U.S. elections

    By ElectionBabe aka Genya Coulter, Twitter Goddess at U.S. Vote Foundation @us_vote

    On January 7th, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security determined that US election systems (traditionally run by individual states with oversight by the Election Assistance Commission) should be considered to be part of the  “critical infrastructure” of the United States of America. Under this new designation, cybersecurity and compliance standards will be overseen by DHS. However, what does this mean to the average American voter? How will this impact the authority of state election officials? And what exactly is “critical infrastructure” anyway?

    Critical infrastructure simply means public systems that are essential for the operation and survival of a society and economy – The U.S. Interstates, the military, law enforcement, utilities, railroads, sewer systems, and cyber technology would all be considered critical infrastructure. As of January 2017, 16 key sectors have been designated as part of the critical infrastructure of the United States. Source: https://www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors

  • Get Ready to Vote – US Vote’s Quick Tips

    November 8th is less than 2 weeks away. Now’s the time to prepare to vote.

    1. If you’re voting by mail / absentee voting

    2. If you’re voting early

  • Top 15 Absentee Ballot Questions of 2016

    Here are the most commonly asked Domestic and Overseas Absentee Ballot questions from our Voter Help Desk. Have a look and see if your question is answered.

    1. Is there still time to request an absentee ballot?

    • There may still be time to request an absentee ballot.
    • If not, you may be able to vote early; many states offer some form of early voting.
    • Check the Election Dates & Deadlines chart for absentee ballot request deadlines and early voting dates in your state. (Notice the toggle to overseas voter dates!)

    2. Where’s my ballot?

    • If you sent your ballot request form to your election office and confirmed that you are registered, but don't yet have your ballot - it is good to check on its whereabouts as soon as possible.
    • Go to the State Voting Requirements directory: Look up your state and open the "Am I Registered - State Lookup Tools" section. There you will see a "Where's My Ballot" link as well - if your state offers it (they don't all have this).
    • If the "Where's My Ballot" link is unavailable or you do not find your ballot, you will need to look up and call your election office - they manage ballot sending and counting.

  • Top 10 Voter Questions of 2016

    The team at U.S. Vote Foundation and Overseas Vote work round the clock to personally answer voter questions through our Voter Help Desk - and we definitely see patterns in the questions being asked. To save you time....


    Answers to 2016’s top 10 most common voter questions!

    1. Did I miss the deadline?

    Assume nothing! You may still have time to register or request a ballot! Election deadlines vary significantly across the states. And even more so for overseas voters.

  • U.S. Citizens: Start with a Bot and End with a Ballot

    U.S. Vote Foundation's Civic Data API Drives the New GoVoteBot Solution

    The 2016 election season has been unlike any other in more ways than one - and believe it not, some of them are positive! Chief among the positives is the new GoVoteBot from R/GA and the Ad Council. With the aim of increasing voter participation in the Fall 2016 Presidential Elections, the two innovative firms teamed up to bring forward a solution to navigating the quagmire of voter dates, deadlines, requirements and regulations.

    As President and CEO of U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote), I would venture to say it's the coolest new voter tool of 2016.

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