Election Management

Massachusetts avoided the most egregious shortcomings that dogged many other states in the 2000 presidential election. Perhaps for that reason, the Bay State has lagged behind most of the rest of the nation in reforming antiquated election practices and upgrading antiquated election technologies that confuse and frustrate voters. The result is tens of thousands of "lost votes" each statewide election--votes that could be recovered by adopting a range of sweeping and incremental reforms.

Election day registration will produce higher voter participation in California.

• States that have adopted EDR have witnessed a 3 to 6 percentage point increase in participation among the voting-age population.
• Voting among young people and those who have moved in the last six months in nearly 15 percentage points higher in states with EDR.
• California might experience an even larger increase in turnout--perhaps as much as 9 percentage points--because California has a younger and more mobile population

During the 2002 general election, the Alexandria Board of Elections tested the Hart Intercivic eSlate voting system as a first step in determining how well an electronic voting system would work in the City of Alexandria. There are three key findings from the evaluation of this system.

1. Alexandria voters are comfortable and satisfied with the current voting system that they have. Voters like the optical scan system and use it quite adeptly.