2008 Primary in Review

Publication Date: July 2008

Publisher: Pew Center on the States

Author(s):

Research Area: Politics

Keywords: elections; voting

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

2008 Primary in Review found that the dramatically increased number of voters taxed the election system more than any administrative problem. Millions of voters--many of them first timers--crowded polling places around the country, doubling recent turnout in some states. The "big three issues of election reform"--voting machines, voter registration databases and voter ID--did not drive the headlines during primary season. Rather, the report found, long lines at polling places, ballot shortages, machine demands and other problems combined to produce a system overwhelmed by voter crowds.