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REVISITING THE U.S. VOTING SYSTEM: A RESEARCH INVENTORY

November 27-28, 2006

Convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Wendy Weiser

THE BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE AT NYU SCHOOL OF LAW IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH PROJECTS:

Purges of the Voter Rolls. In March 2006, the Brennan Center released Making the List: Database Matching and Verification Processes for Voter Registration, an analytic report and state survey of the procedures and protocols used by the states to verify voter registrants in connection with their new statewide voter registration databases. In addition to cataloging the new voter registration practices in 46 states and the District of Columbia, the report drew on information science research to call attention to serious problems with the database matching practices used by a number of states. It also made recommendations for fair and efficient verification procedures in the voter registration context. Following up on that report, the Center is currently researching and drafting Cleaning the List, which will address the procedures and mechanisms used by the states to purge their electronic voter rolls of ineligible individuals. Although every state is required by federal law periodically to clean its voter rolls, very little attention has been paid to the processes by which they do so. This report will analyze all aspects of current state purging practices, from who has authority to purge, to what lists states examine to determine eligibility, to the way in which they use database matching to generate purge lists. The report will also include recommendations for best practices.

Voter Challenger Laws. Virtually every state has procedures to enable election officials, poll workers, partisans, or citizens to challenge the eligibility to vote of people listed on the voter registration rolls or who appear at the polls to vote. Over the past few years, there have been a number of controversial, organized efforts to challenge voters in the context of highly competitive elections. Critics claim that these challenge programs intimidate and lead to the unfair disenfranchisement of eligible voters. Supporters claim that challenge programs are an important tool to guard against voter fraud. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of state challenge procedures or analysis to determine which procedures are most susceptible to partisan or other abuse and whether there are safeguards that can satisfy the concerns of critics and supporters alike. In collaboration with the Century Foundation, the Brennan Center is preparing a report on state challenger laws and procedures, along with recommendations to protect voters and the integrity of elections.

Voter Identification Laws. In collaboration with a variety of security, political science, and other experts, the Brennan Center is studying the impact of new voter identification laws. We are developing methodologies to try to measure the extent to which they disenfranchise eligible voters as well as the extent to which they protect against in-person voting fraud.

Analysis of Voter Fraud Allegations. The Brennan Center has collected a broad array of voter fraud allegations that have been raised in the public debate on voting restrictions, including voter ID. The Center is investigating the truth and details of those allegations.

Universal Voter Registration. The Brennan Center has embarked on a research project to identify ways to increase the rates voter registration in the United States through government initiatives. Among other things, the Center is researching voter registration schemes in other countries, the ways in which the U.S. and state governments collect information about citizens, privacy protections, and access points to expand voter registration.

Voting System Audits. Based on a year and a half-long study involving several task forces, in the summer of 2006, the Brennan Center released a series of reports, called The Machinery of Democracy, evaluating the security, accessibility, usability, and cost of the electronic voting systems used in the United States. The reports contained a number of recommendations to improve the security, accessibility, and usability, and to evaluate the costs of those voting systems. Among those was a recommendation that states implement routine audits of their voting systems. Following up on that recommendation, the Center is considering embarking on a research project to assess and recommend audit procedures in the election administration context.