Voting Rights have become a Top Issue in America, and different Reforms received a great deal of Attention. However, there are many other Smaller but Important ways in which Government Officials can Improve our Elections Systems and Promote Transparency without having to Wait on State Lawmakers to Pass New Legislation.

These Ideas are from Secretaries of State and other Election Officials Nationwide:

- To instill Confidence in the Integrity of our Elections, Voters who Cast a Vote by Mail should be able to Track whether their Ballot has been Accepted, either by Phone or Online. They should also be Notified, either by Phone or Online, if any Problems are Identified with their Ballots, such as their Signatures Not Matching those on File, and given the Opportunity to Correct them.

The Post Office and many Private Companies offers Solitons for this Problem.

- Secretary of State Websites should Display Live Election Results for All Races in their States, along with Precinct Maps that are Updated Live to Show where Returns have come in, to make it easier to Track Returns. To Avoid Confusion and Mistrust, Election Results Sites should Accurately Reflect the Status of Uncounted Votes and should Not read "100 percent reporting" if any Ballots, such as those Cast Early, Absentee, or Provisional, remain Uncounted.

- States should set a Timely Deadline for Counties and Localities that Administer Elections to Submit their Final Results to the State so that an Accurate Publication of Final, Official Results may take place as soon as Feasible after Election Day. Unofficial Results should be clearly Labeled to avoid Confusion with the Official Results. Any Updates or Revisions to Official Results should be Chronicled in a Changelog.

- Once the Filing Deadline Passes, States should Post Lists of Candidates who have Filed for Federal or State Offices and Update them as Candidates are Added or Removed.

- Secretary of State Websites should be Available to Observers Logging in from Outside the U.S. Providing Overseas Access Ensures that Citizens, including Service Members, are Not Disenfranchised, for instance, when they wish to Request Absentee Ballots. It also lets Citizens Abroad remain Apprised of and Involved in Elections back Home. Extra Security is required to Verify the Person is a State Voter on their Voter Rolls.

- Secretaries of State should offer a Central Repository of All election Results in their States in Well-Organized Spreadsheet Files in comma-separated values (CSV) Format. They should also offer Map Files of All Precincts within their States, both as Images and in a Format that can be used with Geographic Information System (GIS) Software. Both Sets of Data would make it Easier for Interested Parties to Analyze Election Results and, importantly, Spot Anomalies that might Indicate Serious Problems worthy of further Investigation. Likewise, Officials should Provide a Changelog to Document Updates to Precinct Boundaries or Names, and they should Maintain Archives of Historical Precinct GIS Files. All of the Materials are Public Records. As such, they should be made available to the Public Free of Charge.

- For the purposes of having Accurate Census Data to Link with Election Results, States should Create a Spreadsheet that Assigns every Census Block in the State to the Precinct that Best corresponds to that Census Block. If Precinct Boundaries Split Census Blocks, then Census Blocks should be Assigned to the Precinct that contains the Plurality of a given Census Block's Population, which can be Calculated by using the State's Registered Voter File to determine the Voter Population in Split Census Blocks at the time the Precincts are used.

- In providing Election Results, Officials should Allocate Early and Absentee Votes to Each Voter’s Geographic Precinct so that Observers can have Complete Information about how a Given Area has Voted, while still Preserving Voter Privacy as needed. Currently, Early and Absentee Votes are often Lumped into a Single Figure without any Geographic Information.

- Officials should Tabulate Statewide Election Results for Offices such as the Presidency, Senate, and Governor by Congressional District, State Legislative District, County Government-level District, and Municipality or Township. This would allow Voters to better Understand the Politics of their Local Districts and Communities. It would also aid Civil Rights Advocates' Efforts to Assess whether Protected Districts in Communities of Color are Satisfying the Voting Rights Act.

- When Lawmakers Split Precincts between Districts, Officials should Publish Results for each Sub-Precinct part, while still Preserving Voter Privacy as needed.

I hope you will share your own Ideas.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker