California Secretary of state Debra Bowen asked computer scientists from UC Berkeley and UC Davis to hack election systems from across the state in order to “ensure that voting equipment is safe from fraud or abuse,” according to a Wednesday report from the Sacramento Bee. The testing is part of a $1.8 million plan to investigate the varying technologies in voting equipment across the state.
Voting systems weren't the only hindrance in conducting elections in an Indiana county. An Indianapolis Star story reported that 150 precinct inspectors never arrived to collect ballots and voter lists in Marion County, Indiana among other election problems. It was the first Election Day for new county clerk Beth White, who brought considerations for her resignation and election reform . The recent election glitches are “nothing new” to Marion County, including poor training of poll workers on voting machines; tardy poll inspectors; shortage of ballots in competitive races; ballot counting problems and faulty voter list purging, eliminating thousands from the rolls.
While numerous voters were kept from the rolls in one state, a large percentage remain unregistered in another. Latino voters, the country's largest minority bloc still are still the hardest to reach as a result of citzenship, language barriers and voter registration being hurdles, particularly in Nevada, according to this Associated Press report. Nevada Democrats are working to orient Latinos – a left leaning minority - into the electoral process and “win the coveted second-in-the nation caucus slot in mid-January.” Adhering to a trend in most of the Southwest, Latinos only account for 13 percent of the electorate when they make up 25 percent of Nevada's population.
In other innovation-related election news, an Associated Press reports that a North Carolina Senate committee “gave its blessing” to a bill in favor of deciding presidential elections by popular vote instead of Electoral College. Out of 40 states that have introduced such legislation, Maryland is the only one to pass it into law, the story said.
Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote’s Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).
Voting systems weren't the only hindrance in conducting elections in an Indiana county. An Indianapolis Star story reported that 150 precinct inspectors never arrived to collect ballots and voter lists in Marion County, Indiana among other election problems. It was the first Election Day for new county clerk Beth White, who brought considerations for her resignation and election reform . The recent election glitches are “nothing new” to Marion County, including poor training of poll workers on voting machines; tardy poll inspectors; shortage of ballots in competitive races; ballot counting problems and faulty voter list purging, eliminating thousands from the rolls.
While numerous voters were kept from the rolls in one state, a large percentage remain unregistered in another. Latino voters, the country's largest minority bloc still are still the hardest to reach as a result of citzenship, language barriers and voter registration being hurdles, particularly in Nevada, according to this Associated Press report. Nevada Democrats are working to orient Latinos – a left leaning minority - into the electoral process and “win the coveted second-in-the nation caucus slot in mid-January.” Adhering to a trend in most of the Southwest, Latinos only account for 13 percent of the electorate when they make up 25 percent of Nevada's population.
In other innovation-related election news, an Associated Press reports that a North Carolina Senate committee “gave its blessing” to a bill in favor of deciding presidential elections by popular vote instead of Electoral College. Out of 40 states that have introduced such legislation, Maryland is the only one to pass it into law, the story said.
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