US Vote Blog

The Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a not-for-profit organization that promotes bipartisanship and provides policy insights and research with the aim of supporting state legislators in passage of laws, has published a recent study which asserts that turnover among election administrators has been growing across the United States. The reasons for such development are multi-fold, and action has to be taken to prepare the country for the smooth conduct of our democratic elections.

The analysis is based on the dataset of 18,644 local chief election officials across 6,290 jurisdictions in 50 U.S. states. According to the study, increased hostility towards election officials, the growing complexity of the role, and an aging workforce are contributing to the increase in turnover.

If you’ve had even half an ear open to the news about elections over the past years, it’s likely that you are not only tired of all the negative news, but you might also have gotten the opinion that voting in the US is a terrible, horrible, no-good, complicated, difficult, complex process. And a few other things, too! That would be no surprise. The media around elections seems relentless and overwhelmingly negative.

Help is on the way! This good news is courtesy of the researchers at the esteemed Center for Elections Innovation and Research (CEIR) and their recent report on the expansion of voting before Election Day.

Several methods of voting implemented over the last two decades make voting more convenient for all citizens no matter their residential situation. Most states now offer some mix of no-excuse absentee balloting, early voting, in-person absentee voting, emergency balloting, and same day registration and voting.

Imagine it’s Election Day and you want to vote in person. You love the connection to your community and the buzz of fulfilling your civic duty. Sometimes there is a bake sale outside of your polling place and most times you can proudly unpeel your “I Voted” sticker to wear as a badge of honor.

New Jersey voter Steven McCoy, often lauded as the World’s First Black Deaf-Blind Journalist, recalls the excitement he had about voting before he became visually impaired.

“This is something within my household that we always had; we always spoke about voting. So I couldn’t wait...

There are three types of the primary elections: “open primary,” “closed primary,” and “blanket/ nonpartisan primary.”

First, an “open primary” is a primary where you - as a voter - don’t have to be affiliated with the party for whose candidate you’re voting. In other words, if you registered with one party you can still vote for a candidate from another party in an “open primary.”

Second, in a “closed primary,” you can only vote for a candidate from the party with which you’re affiliated. In other words, if you’re registered as with a particular party, you can only vote for a candidate from that party.

Third, in a “blanket” or “nonpartisan primary”, also called the “jungle primary”, you can vote for candidates from different parties as you receive a single multiparty ballot and are not bound to party affiliation.

U.S. Vote Foundation is pleased to announce a solution to printing problems in the absentee ballot request process. This year the foundation is introducing a new technology to allow voters to apply a photo of their handwritten signature to a ballot request online and directly email it to their election office through our system.

U.S. Vote Foundation remains at the forefront of innovative civic technology development for voters. The new PSE process is already operational for most states for overseas and military voters. We look forward to feedback on this new process as we continue to develop and improve it over the coming months.

With so many dates and deadlines to remember, it's easy for even the most conscientious voter to lose track. This is where calendar subscriptions prove invaluable. By subscribing to an election calendar, individuals can effortlessly stay informed about upcoming events and deadlines relevant to the election(s) in their state. Good News: U.S. Vote Foundation has sponsored WebCal.Guru to help get these important dates onto your personal calendar.

Good News! The New WebCal.Guru US 2024 Election Calendar is Available.

Get Your US Election Calendar Today!

Before having kids, I was a proud voter who made sure to get to the polls for every election. No matter how large or small the office up for election, I looked forward to having my voice be heard by casting my vote.

Later, as a mom with two young kids, I maintained my good intentions of voting, but sometimes responsibilities with the kids got in the way, or I would lose track of the process, or I was simply too exhausted to make voting a priority.

To get back to carrying out my civic duty more regularly, I was going to need some help. But, what was that going to be? I went on to learn that the Voter Account is a platform for civic engagement, unique to U.S. Vote Foundation: a personal democracy dashboard that helps you keep voting even with an overly busy life.

U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) is honored to play a role in delivering a pivotal report on Ethical Standards for Election Administration to all U.S. election officials on behalf of the Bipartisan Working Group, as well as to make the report available to the public on our website.

In 2022, The American Law Institute facilitated the formation of the Bipartisan Working Group, a diverse group of leaders who set out to create a proposed set of Ethical Standards for Election Administration. The group has now issued its recommendations, offering a clear articulation of the role of ethical standards in guiding the conduct of elections.

In light of recent news stories about threats to election workers and voter harassment, U.S. Vote Foundation thought it important to highlight the protections that exist under federal law to ensure the ability of American citizens to participate freely and safely in U.S. elections.

The mission of the U.S. Justice Department is to “remain vigilant in detecting, investigating, and pursuing violations of federal civil and criminal laws related to voting.” As it has done in previous elections, the U.S. Justice Department will be putting procedures in place...