The power of networks

I'm getting ready to go to Atlanta, GA for the Election Verification Network's conference later this week. It's the ten year anniversary of this conference and network, which has grown into a wonderful community of people over the years. Activists, academics, administrators, elections officials - everyone involved is working toward a common goal of more secure and verifiable elections. We've made a lot of progress over the years simply by talking and listening to one another.

Over the past year and half, I've also had the opportunity to engage in another new network, the Future of California Elections. FOCE is a collective of county election officers, and civil and voting rights advocates working toward a common goal of improving and expanding voter participation in our state. It's exciting to think about the opportunities ahead that I feel confident will emerge when thoughtful people put their heads together and walk in the same direction.

Margaret Mead said to never doubt a small group of thoughtful, committed people could change the world, because really it is the only thing that ever does. I have found this to be quite true. EVN and FOCE are both manifestations of this idea. CVF itself is led by a small, wonderful group of board members who guide our programs and partnerships.

The fact is, we change the world every day simply by connecting people and information to each other.

Please give to CVF and help us make elections better!

At this time of holiday giving, please consider supporting the California Voter Foundation! Your tax-deductible contribution will help us work to improve the voting process in California and beyond. Please see our year-end appeal for more details about what we accomplished in 2012 and the year that lies ahead, and make a donation by check or online (you can use PayPal to make an online credit card donation even if you do not have an account. I hope we can count on your support!

Election verification letter to President Obama

On November 20, the California Voter Foundation sent a letter to President Barack Obama on behalf of 29 signatories, in response to his Election Night comment that we need to fix our voting process, which resulted in long lines at polling places for many voters around the country.

Our letter was featured this week in an Electionline story, including comments from several signatories. A second letter was also sent this week by even more election technology experts. Doug Chapin's blog post today provides a good summary and concludes that:

"The two letters in combination suggest the following agenda for election policymakers:

1. an emphasis on verifiable voting systems, namely paper-based optical scan ballots;
2. a focus on auditability of voting systems; and
3. a deep-seated opposition to Internet voting.

"I'd expect these talking points to feature prominently in the upcoming reform debate. It will be interesting to see if this community is as successful in affecting policy as it was during the voting technology debates of 2004-2006. If so, you can expect the end result of the process to strongly resemble the content of these two letters."

A few excerpts from the Electionline story are also below:

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On Election Day, at one precinct in Washington, D.C. the line to check-in snaked around the block in the early morning chill. Once voters made it inside to the check-in table, poll workers struggled through the paper poll books to find names. 

After voters checked in, those wishing to use the one DRE machine queued up in another line that circled around itself while those wishing to cast paper ballots were only held up when the poll worker overseeing the optical scan machine was called away to help a voter using the DRE.

The average wait time for those trying to cast a ballot before lunchtime was about two hours. 

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Following the election, on behalf of 29 experts in the field of technology and voting, the California Voter Foundation sent President Barack Obama a letter asking him to follow up on his promise to “do something about that” and to pay special attention to the technology aspects of elections.

“I hope our letter is read by the president and helps him develop a thoughtful and well-informed position about election reform,” Alexander said. “I hope it motivates him to invest his resources and attention into this issue area, which is so neglected and underfunded at all levels of government.”

Alexander hopes the president appoints a panel to explore the problems witnessed on Election Day and then recommend changes that would minimize the problems in the future.

One major issue is the role DRE’s played in slowing up the process. David Dill, professor of computer Science at Stanford and also on the board of Verified Voting said DRE’s lead to a host of problems on Election Day. He noted that DRE’s are harder to set up, thus making elections start late; they malfunction; and they are expensive and therefore there are never usually enough to accommodate voters.

“Optical scan ballots, scanned either in the precincts or centrally, are the most widely used voting systems in the U.S,” Dill said. “We should replace DREs with optical scan systems and it will reduce lines.”

Thousands of Calif. ballots are "too late to count"

ABC News' Nannette Miranda recently reported on the thousands of California vote-by-mail ballots that will not be counted this election because they were not received by Election Day.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=8884468

I visited the Sacramento County Elections Office last week to personally inspect some of these ballots - I saw one that arrived from Los Angeles that was postmarked October 20 but still did not arrive by the Nov. 6 Election Day, and I saw another that was sent from New York via Express Mail, costing nearly $20, that also arrived too late and could not be counted. I saw ballots from Australia, China, ballots coming from far away that, though they had been postmarked well before Election Day still arrived too late.

Hopefully the California Legislature will address this issue in its next session. With half of California voters now voting by mail, the burden should not be upon them to ensure the Post Office delivers mail on schedule.

Election Day in California

Election Day is now over in California, and fortunately it does not seem there have been any major meltdowns. But there were, as always, lots of bumps and irregularities. Lots of voters who didn't get their vote-by-mail ballots wanting to vote, lots of voters who didn't reregister at a new address who wanted to vote - that sort of thing.

One thing is clear - the rules are complicated and how they are implemented varies from county to county and even from one polling place to another. There are so many confusing procedures that are supposed to be followed, and it's difficult for voters to know exactly what their rights are.

I heard a story of voters in one polling place being told they had to show ID to vote. I heard another from a voter who said she was forced to vote a provisional ballot even though she had her spoiled vote-by-mail ballot with her and had surrendered it to pollworkers. I heard many complaints from voters today who said they thought they had registered through the DMV and only now discovered they weren't actually on the rolls.

For more examples of the variety of problems California voters experienced, take a look at the collection of reports filed by the Election Protection Coalition through the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline.

Hats off to all the pollworkers who have worked hard all day, to the voters who have cast their ballots, and the election officials who now must turn to the thankless task of counting all those ballots - I wish you accurate vote counts and wide margins.

Top 10 Online Resources for California Voters

Voters looking for last-minute information will find a bounty of great resources online. Here is a rundown of some of the best for the upcoming November 6 election:

1. California Online Voter Guide – now in its 22^st edition, the California Voter Foundation’s nonpartisan guide lists all state and federal candidates on California’s ballot, along with their web site addresses and contact information. Propositions, a “Voting FAQ”, and CVF's "Proposition Song" are also featured.

2. SmartVoter – produced by the League of Women Voters of California, this online guide provides comprehensive ballot information for all elections in most California counties, from President down to school board. Simply type in your address and a personalized list of the candidates and contests on your ballot is displayed. Biographical highlights, priorities and endorsements are featured for candidates who supply them.

3. Maplight – The "Voter's Edge" guide is a fantastic resource providing up-to-date and easy-to-read lists of donors for and against each proposition. News articles, editorials, endorsements and campaign ads are also featured.

4. Official California Voter Information Guide – produced by the Secretary of State, this guide is mailed out to every registered voter’s household. It provides nonpartisan information on the ballot propositions, such as an independent analysis by the state Legislative Analyst, pro/con arguments from proponents and opponents and texts of the propositions. Can’t locate your printed guide? No worries. An online, expanded version is available.

5. Easy Voter Guide – produced by the League of Women Voters of California, this is a great resource for those who are looking for a short and sweet overview of the propositions. It’s available both in print and online, in multiple languages, and designed to be read at the 8^th grade level.

6. County Election Offices Roster – this is the page CVF refers voters to most often. That’s because most of the questions voters have, such as questions about registration, polling place location, ballot information and vote by mail status, can only be answered by their county election office. Fortunately many counties provide online tools that help voters find answers to the most simple questions, such as registration status and polling place location, online 24 hours a day, and CVF's roster links directly to each of those tools where available.

7. California Choices – a fantastic, comprehensive and easy-to-use resource to help familiarize voters with the statewide propositions, this site is produced by Next 10 and academic departments at Stanford, UC Berkeley, CSU Sacramento and UC San Diego.  It features a user-friendly table of endorsements and a way for voters to share their opinions on the propositions with their friends through the site.

8. Ballotpedia - this site covers initiatives across the nation, including those on the California ballot. One of the best features of this site is the historical polling data that tracks initiative support and opposition in public opinion polls over time.

9. Living Voters' Guide - this new project grew out of a similar effort in Washington State, and allows voters to share their opinions on propositions with others via the Web. You can use it to find out what other voters think about the propositions and add your own opinions as well.

10. Voter guides with a slant - some voters want their election information with an opinion attached to it. Even if you don't agree with the editors' opinions, these guides can be really helpful if you understand their point of view. Two great examples from this election are the Courage Campaign's Progressive Voter Guide and the "small L" libertarian-leaning Reason Foundation's California Voters Guide, which followed an earlier, hysterical write-up of the California ballot propositions published on its site over the summer.

Kim Alexander is president and founder of the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to improve the voting process to better serve voters. This essay is available for republication upon request.

Sing Along to the Proposition Song!

Last week the California Voter Foundation debuted our new "Proposition Song" music video, now playing on YouTube. As a multimedia project, people tend to focus on the visuals and music, but the heart of the song is, of course, the lyrics.

So with the hope that you will truly be "singing along", below are the lyrics to this year's Proposition Song. A news release and information page with photos of the players are also available. Enjoy!

“The Proposition Song”

November 2012 Election

By Kim Alexander, California Voter Foundation, www.calvoter.org

Oh we’re having an election, November Six the day

Eleven propositions, come vote and have your say!

The first one is Prop 30, it’s backed by Gov’nr Brown

if passed, some taxes will go up so the budget gap goes down.

31 is also ‘bout the budget, its changes are not trifle

if it’s passed the budget goes from a one to two year cycle.

32 would make it hard for unions to raise their donations  

it also limits contributions from unions and corporations.

It’s the Proposition Song!

Let’s all be singing along!

Cuz the ballot is so darn long!

The next prop is about auto insurance, if passed 33

lets insurers base rates on your insurance history

If passed, 34 repeals the death penalty

Prop 35 makes more severe the crime of human trafficking

36 is also ‘bout criminals and how much time they’re given

revising the three strikes law so they spend less time in prison

37’s about food labels, if passed codifies

that foods be clearly labeled when genetically modified.

It’s the Proposition Song!

Let’s all be singing along!

Cuz the ballot is so darn long!

Prop. 38 is like Prop. 30, about budget and taxing rules

If passed it raises taxes to give more funding to the schools.

Energy programs would be supported if prop 39 passes

by making out of state corporations pay some more in taxes

Last we have Prop 40 the most difficult of all

Proponents tried to have political district maps recalled

but they lost a court battle and have given up the game

A yes vote on Prop 40 would keep districts all the same.

If you want more information, just log yourself online

There’s a whole lot more at calvoter-dot-org

We’re open all the time! 

California Vote-by-Mail period officially starts today, Oct. 9th

Today is the "official" launch of California's "Vote-by-Mail" balloting period, when counties begin mailing out ballots, and ballot pamphlets to voters, and voters can request vote-by-mail ballots.

I say "official" in quotes because technically it was yesterday, ("E-29" in election administration parlance) October 8, but that was Columbus Day and officially a federal and state holiday. No mail is delivered, so nothing can get sent out.

Some counties were open, some were closed, some were processing "counter ballots" where people can walk in and vote in person.

Last month when we were putting together the new California Online Voter Guide I was trying to figure out what date to put for "First Day to Request a Vote-by-Mail ballot". Was it the 8th or the 9th? I emailed my local registrar who informed me I was correct, it should technically be the 8th but is actually the 9th.

Why does this matter? It seems a lot of people are worrying about where their ballots and election materials are. The California Voter Foundation has received an unusually high number of queries from voters wondering why they have not received anything yet.

Fortunately there are tools online voters can use to verify registration or check the status of a vote-by-mail ballot. CVF's Directory of County Election Offices provides links to the county web sites where voters can not only look up their vote-by-mail ballot status, but also registration status, personalized ballot pamphlet, and polling place location. Some counties let voters request vote-by-mail ballots online too.

Whether counties provide any or all of these tools varies widely from county-to-county. As in so many areas of elections, these variations make it hard for people like me to explain clearly to California voters how to interact with our state's voting process.

But one thing is certain: starting today voters should watch their mailboxes for arriving county sample ballots and vote-by-mail ballots. If these election materials don't show up it's a good indication you are not registered at your current address. You can register online or on paper (forms are at most post offices) up until October 22.