US Vote Blog

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.

Congress has repealed the federal mandate for an Internet voting demonstration project.

Since 2002’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), there has been a provision pending completion that called for an Internet voting “demonstration project” to be conducted by the Department of Defense. In 2004, a system was proffered that the Defense Department commissioned, known as the SERVE project. Ultimately, the Defense Department decided against moving forward with SERVE.

Rock The Vote recently launched a campaign aimed at inspiring young Americans to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. Called #TurnOutForWhat, the campaign is enlisting musicians and celebrities to show that voting is vital even when the White House is not at stake. Joining the cause in a video are Lil’ Wayne, Whoopi Goldberg, Lena Dunham, Natasha Lyonne, Sophia Bush, Ireland Baldwin, and Fred Armisen, among others.

According to Rock The Vote, that there are approximately 86 million American Millennials in the U.S. The Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard University defines Millennials as those aged between 18 and 29 years old, born between 1985 and 1996. This age cohort is reportedly far less politically engaged than its older predecessors of the General X and Baby Boomer generations.

As we march toward the middle of October, there are precious few days left until Election Day – November 4. Stay informed about your state’s election dates and deadlines right here with U.S. Vote Foundation’s comprehensive state list.

For both U.S.-based domestic voters as well as overseas or military voters, our list provides state-by-state election dates, voter registration dates, absentee ballot request dates, absentee ballot return dates, and early in-person voting dates where applicable.