Fair & Open Elections

What's New

While there was much to celebrate in the 2008 election – for example, 3.4 million more young voters than the previous election – it is also important to recognize the enormous hurdles, inefficiencies and problems in our registration system.

The inefficiencies in our system cost taxpayers millions and make it harder for election officials to do their jobs.

In U.S.PIRG’s new report, Saving Dollars, Saving Democracy, we surveyed 100 counties and estimated conservatively over $33,467,910.00 of public money was spent on simple registration implementation and registration error-correction issues in 2008.

Furthermore, as large as these numbers look, we know that this is really only the tip of the iceberg for wasted dollars on our antiquated registration system. (Click here to check out our new report.)

U.S.PIRG supports modernizing our registration system by implementing an automatic registration system federally. By creating a system linking existing federal and state databases with the state voter rolls we will cut local costs and streamline our system.

USP-Saving-Dollars-Saving-Democracy.pdf

How You Can Help

Support Voter Registration Modernization

In the 2008 elections, record-high voter turnout led to long lines and poll worker confusion over who was or was not registered. Enabling all citizens the automatic and permanent right to vote, we can ensure a smoother Election Day process and encourage civic engagement. Please call your Secretary of State and ask them to support voter registration modernization.

Click here to see a listing of phone numbers for the offices of Secretaries of State.

Overview

Flaws in our elections open the door to partisan manipulation of election results, disenfranchisement of large portions of the population, and uncertain results—all of which undermine citizens’ faith in our democracy.

The steady progress made over the last 200 years toward a more inclusive and representative democracy has been compromised in recent years in several ways. Some states have adopted unnecessary barriers to registration and promoted efforts that prevent civic groups from reaching out to eligible voters. When election administrators simultaneously serve as officers of campaign committees, voters are right to raise questions about the fairness and accuracy of the election results.

Lax rules allow for gaming the election system to favor one party or candidate. The result is diminished public accountability for elected officials and an increasing role for insiders who can either boost turnout of a certain segment of voters (by, for example, providing more voting machines in selected precincts to reduce lines) or dampen turnout among other segments of the population (by purging voter rolls or refusing to place polling stations in convenient locations in specific communities).

To correct for these problems, states and Congress should adopt clear and reasonable standards to rein in the growing list of abuses we have witnessed in recent elections. Elections should be accessible to all by allowing eligible voters to register when and where they are most likely to participate. The process should have clear standards. It should be uncomplicated and provide voters with confidence that their vote will be counted.

Eligible voters should not be unfairly turned away on Election Day. U.S. PIRG is advocating simple, common-sense reforms that make sure that every voter has the opportunity to participate.

News

Washington, D.C.: Ethics Committee Must Launch Investigations or Release OCE Fact Finding Reports by Week’s End 10/27/2009

U.S. PIRG-Supported Fair Elections Now Act Hits Critical Milestone 10/09/2009

Washington, D.C.: Reform Groups Stand by the Office of Congressional Ethics 10/02/2009

Newsroom

Resource

U.S. PIRG Letter in Support of D.C. Voting Rights

10 Steps to Fair and Open Elections

Click here to download the document outlining several important changes that can be adopted by the federal government and states in time for the 2008 general election.

ISSUES