2008 was an historic election in terms of the election of the first African American to be president and the largest number of voters at the polls in our history. But in this modern age, there is no excuse for privately-owned voting machines that breed mistrust, confusing ballot designs, polling places with long lines, voter registration laws that leave nearly a third of Americans off the rolls, an Electoral College system that undercuts equality and voting methods that suppress voter choice and stifle fair representation.Ballot measures showed that Americans are ready for change. Landslide majorities voted for instant runoff voting in Memphis, Tennessee (70%) and Telluride, Colorado (67%), early voting in Maryland and 17-year-old primary voting in Connecticut, while proportional representation for city council elections won 46.5% against well-financed opposition in Cincinnati. FairVote sees a coming wave of major electoral reforms.
FairVote released the National Edition of a report series that seeks to shed light on the practices of county election officials responsible for running efficient elections this November. The report, “Uniformity in Election Administration: A Survey of Swing State County Clerks–National Edition,” shows that the largest counties in 10 swing states may fall short in allocating enough machines and some students may face Election Day problems due to an insufficient number of on-campus polling places. With turnout in swing states expected to rise to unprecedented levels, FairVote is making every effort to ensure voters don’t run into roadblocks this Election Day. In the report, we offer a series of conclusions and recommendations about what states can do to have a transparent process and prepare for what could be the highest voter turnout in modern presidential election history. Reports on Missouri, New Mexico, Colorado and Virginia election preparedness were released earlier this fall.