Election Reform

Election Reform in the States

 

Our elections are administered by more than 13,000 local election jurisdictions, including counties, cities, towns, and townships. State legislatures and state officials are responsible for updating laws and regulations and passing new laws that impact elections.  In short, state government is where you'll find the election action and it's where you'll find Common Cause state offices and representatives working to improve elections in the most fundamental ways.

 

In 2005, Common Cause has been fighting for fair and verifiable elections in more than 15 states on issues ranging from voter-verified paper ballots (VVPB) to increased poll worker training to improved and standardized processes for provisional balloting, voter registration, and the counting and recounting of votes.

 

Please join us in the campaign in your state using the action center at right or contact our national office to learn how we can work together in your state.

 

State campaigns to reform elections:

 

Colorado (legislative session finished)
Connecticut
Maine
Maryland (legislative session finished)
Massachusetts
New Mexico (legislative session finished)
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Texas

 

 

Connecticut: The Connecticut General Assembly's Government Administration and Elections Committee has approved S.B. 55 which will require a voter-verified paper ballot (VVPB) on every new voting machine purchased by the state. The legislation is comprehensive - tackling not only concerns about the integrity of our elections but also addressing accessibility issues for people who are visually impaired.  We are working with allies to make sure this proposal passes the full Legislature and is signed by Governor Jodi Rell, who has indicated she is supportive.

 

Maine: Maine has an active group working to pass fusion voting, strengthen the VVPB law, provide options for vote-by-mail, and other election reforms. L.D. 1026 is "An Act To Provide Uniform Voter Verification and Recount Requirements for Voting Machines" (Sponsor: Rep. PINGREE of North
Haven). L.D. 1033 is "An Act To Implement Fusion Voting in Maine" (Sponsor: Rep. PINGREE of North Haven). L.D. 1266 is "An Act To Ensure Integrity in the Voting Process" (Sponsor: PRESIDENT EDMONDS of Cumberland). L.D. 1388 is "An Act To Amend Maine Election Law by Instituting a Statewide Vote-by-mail System" (Sponsor: Rep. GLYNN of South Portland). L.D. 1436 is "An Act To Encourage a Vote-by-Mail System in Maine" (Sponsor: Rep. GLYNN of South Portland). L.D. 1514 is "An Act To Enhance the Transparency of Maine's Elections" (Sponsor: Rep. PINGREE of North Haven).

 

Massachusetts: The Massachusetts legislature is now getting rolling. Common Cause Massachusetts supports bills that the legislature is currently considering which will improve our elections. H. 134 would require a voter-verified paper trail for electronic voting systems. H. 70 and S. 444 would enact Election Day Registration, allowing eligible voters to register and vote at their polling place on Election Day. H. 113 would allow early voting, up to two weeks before an election. H. 68 would allow 17-year-olds to register to vote.

 

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) encourages positive, issue-based campaigns and allows more third parties to be on the ballot because votes for third party candidates will not be "wasted". Several bills would enact IRV in Massachusetts elections: H. 53, H. 54, H. 66, H. 67, and H. 79.

 

New York: A proposal before the New York legislature (A. 1598 and A. 6354) would enact Election Day Registration (EDR), allowing eligible citizens to register and vote at polling places on Election Day. EDR is likely to substantially raise New York's low voter turnout. Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin - which all currently allow EDR - had the highest voter turnouts in the 2004 election.

 

On May 3, reform activists from across New York state converged on Albany for a day of citizen lobbying. Legislative leaders heard our voices calling for a variety of reforms in state government, including legislation to implement the Help America Vote Act.

 

North Carolina: After a voting machine in Carteret County lost 4,400 votes during the general election, leaving two close statewide races up in the air for months, North Carolina is taking election reform very seriously.  Common Cause North Carolina is backing a broad package of election reform proposals and focusing its energy on S.B. 223 / H.B. 238, the Public Confidence in Elections bills that will require voter verified paper ballots (VVPB), open source code, mandatory random recounts and improved poll worker training.  Read more on how to join this effort and additional election reform proposals in North Carolina.

 

Ohio: In late April, nearly all of Ohio's introduced election process related legislation was rolled in to one omnibus bill, sub. H.B. 3.  A 600 page document addressing a wide range of election issues, sub H.B. 3 will almost assuredly pass (probably with additional amendments) and we're working with reform partners to publicize the proposals on the table, add additional badly needed reforms and strengthen the policies lawmakers have already proposed.  We also need to work hard to make sure lawmakers don't add negative amendments, like an across the board ID requirement or a repeal of the state's voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) law.

 

Texas: Common Cause Texas is fighting a number of bad proposals in their legislature, including restrictive ID requirements and at least one poor VVPAT bill.  CC-TX is also working to pass bills to require a VVPAT, improve provisional balloting and election day procedures.  For more on CC-TX, please visit www.commoncause.org/texas.

 

Highlights from states where legislative sessions have just finished:

 

Colorado: Two election reform bills passed the House and Senate and now await the governor's signature:  S.B. 198, which will require a voter-verified paper trail for electronic voting machines; an audit of a random sampling of votes; expansion of the list of acceptable ID's; that provisional ballots cast by eligible voters will count toward all races in which the voter voted; and allows for expanded early voting hours.  In addition to this, S.B. 206 addresses voter registration drives, absentee ballots, provisional ballots, testing and certification of electronic voting machines, and streamlining the election calendar.  Together these two bills make a strong election improvement package.  Join us to make sure it passes with all of these key provisions.

 

Maryland: Working in conjunction with TrueVoteMD, Common Cause Maryland pushed for H.B. 107 that would have required all of Maryland's electronic voting machines to produce a voter-verified paper audit trail.  The proposal did not pass, but Maryland did pass a study commission that will delve deeper into the paper trail issue and make recommendations in advance of the next legislative session.

 

New Mexico: During the 2005 legislative session, Common Cause New Mexico worked to provide research and commentary for a wide-reaching election reform bill.  The passage of this bill, which includes a voter-verified paper trail, statewide standards for poll worker training, as well as several other provisions that make voting more transparent, is an excellent move forward for the citizens of New Mexico.  The bill had wide legislative support and has already been signed by the Governor.