Issue 63 | October 2015 can•vass (n.) Compilation of election returns and validation of the outcome that forms the basis of the official results by a political subdivision. —U.S. Election Assistance Commission: Glossary of Key Election Terminology TO SUBSCRIBE to The Canvass, please email a request to [email protected]Inside this Issue The Facts on 10 Common Election Misconceptions 1 Bookmark This 3 One Big Number 3 HAVA Funds 4 From the Chair 5 The Election Admin- istrator’s Perspective 5 Worth Noting 6 From NCSL’s Elections Team 6 The Facts on 10 Common Election Misconceptions It’s October which means crisp fall air, pumpkins everywhere and all manner of spooky and macabre decorations are dotting offices and front porches for Halloween. In keeping with the season, it’s a good time to look at the myths, urban legends, and scary stories that people think of when it comes to elections. Below are a few of the misconceptions about elections that have come up over the years. Dead people vote When talk turns to election fraud, the idea that dead people vote is sure to come up. Indeed, dead people’s votes have been counted, but specters are not showing up at the polls. Instead, it sometimes happens that a voter votes early or by absentee ballot, and unfortunately passes away before Election Day. In most states those votes are still counted. The reasoning is that the voter was eligible at the time of completing the ballot. Besides, it can be virtually im- possible from a practical point of view to separate out a ballot from someone who died before Election Day from the other ballots received. In April and May of this year, Maryland passed two bills ( S 97 and H 884) clarifying that votes properly cast by someone who then passes away shall be counted. But on the issue of election fraud there’s no escaping the fact that people sometimes vote using the identi- ties of the deceased. “In Arkansas we’ve had dead people vote,” says Senator Bryan King (R-Arkansas), a former election commissioner. “Voter fraud is not widespread and it is sensationalized when it happens, but it happened in certain places for a long time.” You can’t vote twice When it comes to state and federal elections voting in two different places is fraud, unwitting or otherwise. An interesting case to watch is developing in Kansas where a man has been voting in both Colorado and Kansas for years and is now being investigated by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. But certain states allow municipalities to decide whether non-resident property owners can vote in local elections, most often when a tax issue is on the ballot. Your voter registration is automatically updated when you move It can’t be said enough—your voter registration does not automatically update when you move. Keeping up with a mobile population is one of the biggest challenges election officials are facing today. According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, one in eight voter registrations is inaccurate. Online voter registration, the Elec- tronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and the Interstate Crosscheck System have all helped states maintain accurate voter rolls as voters routinely move within a state or cross state lines without canceling their voter registration. “Sticky” voter registration in which registration stays with a voter even if they move jurisdictions within a state may be an option for states going forward. Massachusetts S 374 would establish “sticky” registration for voters in the Bay State. (cont. on page 2)
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Issue 63 | October 2015
can•vass (n.)
Compilation of election
returns and validation of
the outcome that forms
the basis of the official
results by a political
subdivision.
—U.S. Election Assistance Commission: Glossary of Key Election Terminology
The Facts on 10 Common Election Misconceptions It’s October which means crisp fall air, pumpkins everywhere
and all manner of spooky and macabre decorations are dotting
offices and front porches for Halloween. In keeping with the
season, it’s a good time to look at the myths, urban legends,
and scary stories that people think of when it comes to elections.
Below are a few of the misconceptions about elections that have
come up over the years.
Dead people vote When talk turns to election fraud, the idea that dead people vote
is sure to come up. Indeed, dead people’s votes have been
counted, but specters are not showing up at the polls. Instead,
it sometimes happens that a voter votes early or by absentee
ballot, and unfortunately passes away before Election Day. In most states those votes are still counted. The
reasoning is that the voter was eligible at the time of completing the ballot. Besides, it can be virtually im-
possible from a practical point of view to separate out a ballot from someone who died before Election Day
from the other ballots received. In April and May of this year, Maryland passed two bills (S 97 and H 884)
clarifying that votes properly cast by someone who then passes away shall be counted.
But on the issue of election fraud there’s no escaping the fact that people sometimes vote using the identi-
ties of the deceased. “In Arkansas we’ve had dead people vote,” says Senator Bryan King (R-Arkansas), a
former election commissioner. “Voter fraud is not widespread and it is sensationalized when it happens, but
it happened in certain places for a long time.”
You can’t vote twice When it comes to state and federal elections voting in two different places is fraud, unwitting or otherwise.
An interesting case to watch is developing in Kansas where a man has been voting in both Colorado and
Kansas for years and is now being investigated by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
But certain states allow municipalities to decide whether non-resident property owners can vote in local
elections, most often when a tax issue is on the ballot.
Your voter registration is automatically updated when you move It can’t be said enough—your voter registration does not automatically update when you move. Keeping up
with a mobile population is one of the biggest challenges election officials are facing today. According to
The Pew Charitable Trusts, one in eight voter registrations is inaccurate. Online voter registration, the Elec-
tronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and the Interstate Crosscheck System have all helped states
maintain accurate voter rolls as voters routinely move within a state or cross state lines without canceling
their voter registration. “Sticky” voter registration in which registration stays with a voter even if they move
jurisdictions within a state may be an option for states going forward. Massachusetts S 374 would establish
“sticky” registration for voters in the Bay State.