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Convened by the American Association
for the Advancement of Science
Main | Participants
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.
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