Administering Elections: How American Elections Work

241 Pages·2015·4.586 MB·English

by  Kathleen Hale, Robert Montjoy, Mitchell Brown (auth.)

Administering Elections
Elections,Voting,Technology
The series Elections, Voting, Technology examines the relationships between peo-
ple,electoralprocessesandtechnologies,anddemocracy.Electionsareafundamental
aspectofafreeanddemocraticsocietyand,attheircore,theyinvolveacitizenrymak-
ing selections for who will represent them. This series examines the ways in which
citizensselecttheircandidates—thevotingtechnologiesused,therulesofthegame
that govern the process—and considers how changes in processes and technologies
affectthevoterandthedemocraticprocess.
ThadHallisanassociateprofessorofpoliticalscienceattheUniversityofUtahanda
researchaffiliatewiththeCaltech/MITVotingTechnologyProject.Heisthecoauthor
ofseveralbooksonelectionsandvoting,includingPoint,Click,andVote:TheFuture
ofInternetVotingandElectronicElections:ThePerilsandPromiseofDigitalDemocracy,
andcoeditorofthebookElectionFraud.
ConfirmingElections:CreatingConfidenceandIntegritythroughElectionAuditing
EditedbyR.MichaelAlvarez,LonnaRaeAtkeson,andThadE.Hall
CivilSocietyandElectoralAccountabilityinLatinAmerica
SharonF.Lean
Elections and Democratization in the Middle East: The Tenacious Search for Freedom,
Justice,andDignity
EditedbyMahmoudHamadandKhalilal-Anani
TheAmericanElection2012:ContextsandConsequences
EditedbyR.WardHolderandPeterB.Josephson
ConvenienceVotingandTechnology:TheCaseofMilitaryandOverseasVoters
ClaireM.Smith
AdministeringElections:HowAmericanElectionsWork
KathleenHale,RobertMontjoy,andMitchellBrown
Administering Elections
How American Elections Work
KathleenHale,RobertMontjoy,andMitchellBrown
administeringelections
Copyright©KathleenHale,RobertMontjoy,andMitchellBrown,2015.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-40041-3
Allrightsreserved.
Firstpublishedin2015by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN®
intheUnitedStates—adivisionofSt.Martin’sPressLLC,
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Limited,registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,
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PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove
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Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnited
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ISBN 978-1-349-55293-1 ISBN 978-1-137-38845-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-38845-2
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Hale,Kathleen.
Administeringelections:howAmericanelectionswork/KathleenHale,
RobertMontjoyandMitchellBrown.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1. Elections—UnitedStates—Management. 2. Electionlaw—United
States. 3. Politics,Practical—UnitedStates. 4. UnitedStates—Politics
andgovernment. I. Title.
JK1976.H252015
324.60973—dc23 2015005849
AcataloguerecordofthebookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
DesignbyIntegraSoftwareServices
Firstedition:August2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Toelectionadministratorseverywhere—ourgatekeepersofdemocracy

Contents
ListofTablesandFigures ix
Foreword xiii
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxi
Introduction xxiii
ListofAcronyms xxxi
ListofCases xxxiii
1 UnderstandingElectionAdministrationSystems 1
2 TheStructureofElectionAdministrationatStateand
LocalLevels 27
3 TheEvolvingFederalRoleinElectionAdministration 53
4 TheLegalFrameworkofElectionAdministrationinthe
ModernEra 77
5 Pluralism,PoliticalParticipation,andThird-PartyGroups 97
6 StateInnovationsinElectionAdministration 119
7 CurrentChallengesinElectionAdministration 143
Appendix 171
Notes 183
References 185
Index 205

Tables and Figures
Tables
1.1 ResearchonElementsofElectionAdministration 19
1.2 ResearchonCross-cuttingIssuesinElectionAdministration 21
1.3 ResearchonCapacityofElectionAdministrationSystems 21
2.1 Title,methodsofselection,andappointingauthorities
forchiefelectionofficialsacrossthestates 34
2.2 Comparisonofmethodsofselectionofchiefelection
officialsinworlddemocraciesandtheUSstates 37
2.3 Partisanshipandmethodsofselectionofstatechief
electionofficials 38
2.4 Institutionalconfigurationoflocalelectionoffices 40
2.5 MultiplefunctionsofcountyelectionofficialsinCalifornia 41
2.6 Stateswithmultipleelectionofficials 43
3.1 PrimaryUSconstitutionalprovisionsaffectingfederal
andstateelections 54
3.2 Jurisdictionscertifiedforfederalobserversbystateover
time,1965–2014 61
3.3 Classificationofstatevoteridentificationmethodsfor
in-personvoting(2014) 69
4.1 Sourcesofvoterregistrationforms 80
4.2 CommissionersoftheUSElectionAssistance
Commission2003–2011 85