From Registration to Recounts

Publication Date: December 2007

Publisher: Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University

Author(s): Nathan A. Cemenska; Edward B. Foley; Daniel P. Tokaji; Steven F. Huefner

Research Area: Politics

Keywords: nonpartisanship; voter registration; voting irregularities ; election systems

Type: Report

Coverage: Illinois Michigan Minnesota Ohio Wisconsin

Abstract:

Released one year before the 2008 presidential election, this study found serious weaknesses in the election systems of five Midwestern states that could jeopardize voters' access to the polls as well as the integrity and finality of election results.

Researchers examined election systems in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. They found some strengths, notably the statewide voter database in Michigan, same-day registration in Wisconsin, and a strong culture of nonpartisanship in both that state and Minnesota. But they also found deficiencies, especially in Ohio, where voting irregularities surfaced in the 2004 election, and in Illinois. The study also makes recommendations to strengthen election systems across the country.