Why Hand Counting Votes Makes Every Vote Count

From Maine to Alaska, Manual Tallies Bring Trust and Transparency to Nerve-Racking Elections

Just before the polls closed on election night, I met with 12 of my townspeople at our town hall in Maine, raised my right hand, and took an oath to uphold the federal and state constitutions.

We were then assigned to bipartisan pairs (Republican, Democrat, and Unaffiliated) to spend the next two-and-a-half hours elbow to elbow, reading aloud each of the 350 ballots cast in our town of 419 registered voters (out of a total of 500 or so residents). With our identical red pens and tallies, along with our …

By Lisa Margonelli | November 15, 2016

Did Hamburg’s Olympic Bid Destroy Its Local Democracy?

How the Failed Effort to Bring the 2024 Games to Germany Restricted Voters' Democratic Rights

Angelika Gardiner | November 10, 2016

Democracy killed a bid to bring the Olympics to Hamburg, Germany, where I live. But in the process, the Olympics dealt a big blow to our local democracy.

I’ve worked on …

How Voting Selfies Brought Down South Korea’s Conservative Majority

Social Media Campaigns Are Boosting Youth Turnout and Curbing the Influence of Elderly Voters

By Yoon Lee | November 8, 2016

Korean elections are no longer driven by the old.

For more than 16 years, older voters in Korea dominated politics, giving the conservatives a big advantage—and a majority in the national …

It Takes More Than a Naked Katy Perry to Get Out the Vote

Ranking Candidates Gives People What They Want: a Choice, a Party, and Tighter Elections

By Krist Novoselic | November 3, 2016

Katy Perry’s new Rock the Vote video offers a great strategy for encouraging engagement in democracy—prurient interest. She tries to vote naked, and ends up being arrested and taken away. …

I’ll Vote, But First, Let Me Take A Selfie

Snapping and Sharing a Photo of Your Ballot Is Good for Democracy

By Mark Joseph Stern | September 27, 2016

Voting, James Madison once wrote, is fundamental in a constitutional republic like America. Yet “at the same time,” he noted, its “regulation” is “a task of peculiar delicacy.”

Madison was talking …

The Cure for Your #Regrexit Democratic Hangover

For Remorseful Brits and Other Voters Who Found Themselves Uninformed on a Major Decision, Experiments in the Western U.S. Could Solve Ballot Measure Blues

By John Gastil | June 29, 2016

The #Regrexit hashtag encapsulates Britain’s morning-after regrets since a referendum in which nearly 52 percent of voters opted to leave the European Union. A Daily Mail poll estimates that more …

voting

Why Hand Counting Votes Makes Every Vote Count

From Maine to Alaska, Manual Tallies Bring Trust and Transparency to Nerve-Racking Elections

Did Hamburg’s Olympic Bid Destroy Its Local Democracy?

How the Failed Effort to Bring the 2024 Games to Germany Restricted Voters' Democratic Rights

How Voting Selfies Brought Down South Korea’s Conservative Majority

It Takes More Than a Naked Katy Perry to Get Out the Vote

Ranking Candidates Gives People What They Want: a Choice, a Party, and Tighter Elections

I’ll Vote, But First, Let Me Take A Selfie

Snapping and Sharing a Photo of Your Ballot Is Good for Democracy

The Cure for Your #Regrexit Democratic Hangover

For Remorseful Brits and Other Voters Who Found Themselves Uninformed on a Major Decision, Experiments in the Western U.S. Could Solve Ballot Measure Blues

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Vulnerable Voting Machines Are Putting America at Risk

How Antiquated Equipment Could Imperil Democracy Itself

Here Are Two Voting Reforms That Could Counter America’s Hyperpolarization

When Used Together, ‘Ranked Choice’ and ‘Top Two’ Elections Would Strengthen Major Parties and Favor Moderate Politicians

I’ll Vote, But First, Let Me Take A Selfie

Snapping and Sharing a Photo of Your Ballot Is Good for Democracy

Are California Elections a Triumph of Democracy—or a Defeat?

The Golden State Keeps Making It Easier to Vote, and Harder to Understand What to Vote For

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