Electoral laws

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Hasen
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
Election Administration ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
Political Integrity ◽  
Voting Laws ◽  
Vote Counting

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the legal and political integrity issues raised in the 2016 elections. It begins by describing the now normal voting wars between the hyperpolarized parties, lawsuits aimed at shaping the rules for the registration of voters, the conduct of voting, and the counting of ballots. Restrictive voting laws have increased in number and severity in many states with Republican legislatures, and the judiciary itself often divides along partisan lines in determining controversial laws’ legality. The chapter then turns to the troubling escalation in the wars, from candidate Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud and election rigging to Russian (and other) meddling, the rise of “fake news,” and problems with vote-counting machinery and election administration. It concludes by considering the role that governmental and nongovernmental institutions can play in protecting American election administration from internal and external threats and restoring confidence in elections.

Electoral Integrity in America

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Class Group ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Red Flags ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
American Elections

The contemporary era raises a series of red flags about electoral integrity in America. Problems include plummeting public trust, exacerbated by President Trump’s claims of massive electoral fraud. Confidence in the impartiality and reliability of information from the news media has eroded. And Russian meddling has astutely exploited both these vulnerabilities, heightening fears that the 2016 contest was unfair. This book brings together a first-class group of expert academics and practitioners to analyze challenges facing contemporary elections in America. Contributors analyze evidence for a series of contemporary challenges facing American elections, including the weaknesses of electoral laws, overly restrictive electoral registers, gerrymandering district boundaries, fake news, the lack of transparency, and the hodgepodge of inconsistent state regulations. The conclusion sets these issues in comparative context and draws out the broader policy lessons for improving electoral integrity and strengthening democracy.

Accessible Elections and Voter Turnout

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Michael Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Early Voting ◽  
Panel Models ◽  
Election Administration ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Voting Laws

Chapter 4 evaluates the impact of convenience voting laws (in-person early voting, no-excuse absentee/mail voting, and same day registration) and election administration on individual-level voter turnout change from the 2010 to 2014 midterm elections and the 2008 to 2012 presidential elections using lagged panel models. Results show that non-voters are more likely to become voters when living in states with absentee/mail voting, in-person early voting, same day registration, and high-quality election administration, controlling for other factors. Same day registration is the most important of the three in both midterm and presidential elections, while early voting and absentee/mail voting have the largest effects in midterm elections.

Why Studying State Voting Laws Is Not Enough

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-50
Author(s):  
Michael Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
Omitted Variables ◽  
Early Voting ◽  
Election Administration ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
State Adoption ◽  
Voting Decisions ◽  
Voting Laws

Early studies of the effects of voter laws on turnout often showed that early voting, absentee, and mail voting had limited impacts on voter turnout, with only same day registration consistently linked to higher turnout. Much of the previous research measured these laws in isolation (although most states have combinations of the laws), omitted measurement of election administration, did not account for possible selection bias in state adoption of the laws, focused on overall voter turnout rather than that for disadvantaged groups, and did not measure the effects of the laws on campaign mobilization strategies. Census data used in previous studies omitted variables (e.g., political interest and partisanship) known to influence voting decisions. Building on research from 2000s and 2010s, Chapter 3 emphasizes how causal inference research design and national voter files can lead to more precise estimations of the effects of convenience voting laws and election administration on voter turnout.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
Michael Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Solid State ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Voter Registration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Early Voting ◽  
Election Administration ◽  
Election Reform ◽  
Low Educated ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Voting Laws

Chapter 8 reviews the main findings of the book and identifies areas for future research. The general findings indicate that each of the state convenience voting laws (in-person early voting, no-excuse absentee/mail voting, and same day registration) as well solid state election administration can improve voter turnout and promote greater voting equality between the socio-economic classes and among non-Hispanic whites and racial/ethnic minorities. The study demonstrates the value of an advanced causal inference design applied to a rich dataset on American adults (national voter files). It highlights the importance of measuring the effects of multiple convenience voting laws and election administration simultaneously. Future applications of the accessible voting framework can be used to understand the impacts of new election reform laws such as automatic voter registration, and to evaluate whether these factors also promote higher turnout among other historically marginalized voting groups such as the young and low-educated.

Measuring Accessible Elections

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Michael Ritter
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Performance Index ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Early Voting ◽  
Election Administration ◽  
Registration Laws ◽  
Voting Decisions ◽  
Independent Effects ◽  
Voting Laws

Chapter 2 develops the accessible elections theoretical framework used throughout the study. To evaluate the framework, the chapter discusses data to measure state voting and registration laws, election administration performance, and individual voting decisions in recent midterm and presidential elections. Special attention is paid to the Election Performance Index (EPI) to measure how well states conduct elections; previous research has not generally measured election administration to predict voter turnout. The states have different combinations of in-person early voting, no-excuse absentee/mail voting, same day registration laws, and election administration performance. The moderate correlation between the voting laws and election administration suggests that both must be taken into account to identify their independent effects on whether people vote. Research hypotheses posit that states with more convenience voting laws and higher performing election administrations will have higher voter turnout, campaign mobilization, and lower turnout inequality.

Challenges in American Elections

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pippa Norris ◽  
Sarah Cameron ◽  
Thomas Wynter
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Fake News ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Core Concept ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
American Elections ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
Electoral Performance

Electoral integrity faces many challenges in America. To understand these issues, the first part of this chapter starts by identifying the major concerns arising during and after the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, including issues about fraud, fakery, and meddling. To place these issues in a broader perspective and establish whether systematic evidence justifies these sorts of anxieties, the second part clarifies the core concept of electoral integrity as the key yardstick used to evaluate elections around the world and outlines the sequential steps in the electoral cycle, as well as how this concept can best be measured. The third part demonstrates that many countries face multiple challenges in meeting international standards of electoral integrity. Compared with similar affluent democracies, American contests perform particularly poorly. The analysis also uses expert and public evaluations to diagnose the electoral performance of all 50 U.S. states. To understand the reasons for these ratings in more depth, the fourth part outlines the chapters contained in the rest of the book. Contributors analyze evidence for a series of contemporary challenges facing American elections: the weaknesses of electoral laws, photo ID requirements for electoral registers, gerrymandering district boundaries, fake news, the lack of transparency, and the hodgepodge of inconsistent state regulations. The conclusion sets these challenges in comparative context and draws out the broader policy lessons for improving electoral integrity and thereby strengthening American democracy.

Maier-Kolumne – Fake News

physiopraxis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (07/08) ◽  
pp. 58-58
Author(s):  
Ulrike Maier
Keyword(s):  
Fake News

Eine Hausärztin, die, statt ein Physio-Rezept auszustellen, auf Übungen aus der Apotheken Umschau verweist? Unmöglich, sollte man meinen. Doch Physiotherapeutin Ulrike Maier belehrt eines Besseren. Ihre unwissende Hausärztin von nebenan liefert ihren Patienten gerne mal „alternative Fakten“ und hat bei ihren physiotherapeutischen Kenntnissen noch dringend Nachholbedarf.

Datos masivos, algoritmización y nuevos medios frente a desinformación y fake news. Bots para minimizar el impacto en las organizaciones

2020 ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Jesús Miguel Flores Vivar
Keyword(s):  
Fake News

Éste trabajo parte de una información compartida por muchos investigadores. La comprensión de la desinformación como un fenómeno que va mucho más allá del término “noticias falsas”. Estos términos han sido apropiados y usados engañosamente por poderosos actores para desestimar y poner en entredicho la cobertura informativa que ya atraviesa momentos críticos sobre la credibilidad.

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