Presidential Commission on Election Administration Releases Recommendations to Improve Elections

After several months of data collection, hearings, interviews, and public consultation, the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration has released a series of recommendations to promote electoral integrity and administrative efficiency in the democratic process.

The commission says states can improve the voter registration process by upgrading the tools used to keep registration rolls accurate, accessible, and complete, including the following:

• Online voter registration, which improves the accuracy of voter records and reduces administrative and financial burdens for election officials while making the voting process easier for eligible voters.
• The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a multistate partnership that utilizes a sophisticated, secure data-matching tool to improve the accuracy and efficiency of state voter registration systems.
• Automation of the “motor voter” process, which contributes to more precise and comprehensive voter registries while streamlining motor vehicle agency procedures.

The presidential commission report cited the following studies and resources from The Pew Charitable Trusts, which can be accessed directly below:

• Being Online Is Still Not Enough, December 2011
• Bringing Elections Into the 21st Century: Voter Registration Modernization, August 2009
• Democracy From Afar, January 2012
• The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)
• Election Administration by the Numbers, February 2012
• The Elections Performance Index, February 2013
• Electronic Registration Information Center: Stage 1 Evaluation, December 2013
• Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient, February 2012
• No Time to Vote, January 2009
• Online Voter Registration (OLVR) Systems in Arizona and Washington, April 2010
• Provisional Ballots: An Imperfect Solution, July 2009
• Understanding Online Voter Registration, January 2014
• Upgrading Democracy, November 2010

Pew's election initiatives supports innovative research and partnerships to achieve the highest standards of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, convenience, and security in America’s system of election administration. Because such systems are fundamental to our nation’s democracy, we examine pressing election problems, share successful practices, and undertake projects to help states implement efficient and cost-effective solutions.