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Abstract

My expertise is in trying to use data to identify where election problems lie in America, especially at a broad level --- such as comparing states with each other or comparing counties with each other. I know that the purpose of today’s conference is to think about LA County, but there are lessons to be learned from looking across the country. So, what I thought I would do today is look at the election of 2008 to ask what do the data tell us about the experience of voters nationwide on Election Day?

The 2008 election was different from the last two presidential elections in that there was a clear winner on Election Day and the winner was a Democrat, Barack Obama. Controversies over voting technology that raged in 2000 and 2004 were relatively dormant. Instead, the election controversies that did come up were mostly discussions of lines to vote. This lack of discussion does not mean that there were not important issues related to voting technology that took place in 2008, just that they were not things deemed important by the media.

Abstract

Abstract
Voter registration databases maintain lists of registered voters that are used to determine who is and is not eligible
to vote in an election. As such, accurate voter registration databases form a cornerstone of the electoral process. In
the United States, each state maintains its own voter registration database. It is not uncommon for a voter to become registered in two states, for example as a result of moving from one state to the other or of living in one state and working in one another.

Introduction

The practice of voter registration has a long history in the United States. In 1800, Massachusetts was the first state to impose a voter registration requirement. By Reconstruction, voter registration was used in a handful of states, typically in urban areas, as a tool to prevent multiple voting. By early in the twentieth century, most states required voter registration.

Introduction

Abstract
Between December 2007 and February 2009, Venezuelans participated twice in constitutional referenda where
the elimination of presidential term limits was one of the most salient proposals. Assuming voter preferences