WASHINGTON (June 20, 2024)—As the U.S. speeds toward November elections that will determine the presidency, control of Congress, and power in state legislatures, experts are looking for ways to ensure that voters can participate, have their vote counted, and trust in the results of the electoral process. It’s a challenging problem—but there are real, evidence-based solutions that can improve democracy for all voters.
In a new fact sheet and accompanying whitepaper, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has issued a set of recommendations for how transparent, publicly available data can help contribute to free and fair elections. These recommendations, created in collaboration with the UCS Election Science Task Force, show the path for state and local election officials to build a healthier democracy.
“Public data belongs to everyone, and there are proven ways to ensure that voters can get the information they need to vote and to have confidence in the outcomes of election,” said Liza Gordon-Rogers, research associate at the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS. “States should implement these best practices to make sure that election processes are as transparent and visible to the public as possible. That doesn’t just matter this fall—it matters in every election to come.”
Clear information about the election process is vital to a healthy democracy, according to UCS experts. Voters deserve to know if they’re registered, and how and where to vote. Every voter deserves the ability to verify that their vote was counted and recorded without errors, and to remedy potential problems with their ballot. And data about who’s voted, the use of different voting methods, and rejected or challenged ballots can help community groups engage with the process, mobilize people to vote, and ensure their constituents have a voice in the process.
And with misinformation and confusion spreading around the country, there’s a real risk that public trust in elections will erode—creating the chance for bad actors to undermine the electoral process. Clear, consistent practices for election data will help to fight the corrosive effects of misinformation.
The new fact sheet and whitepaper compare voting processes and data availability in five states—Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Election rules and practices for sharing election data vary widely across these states and across counties within these states. UCS experts asked three questions about election data:
- How do states track voters and maintain an up-to-date voter file?
- How are ballots processed and how is that information shared with the public?
- How are ballots certified? What processes exist for fixing problems with ballots, and how are elections audited to ensure that votes are counted accurately? Along with analysis of how these states handle election data today, the whitepaper and fact sheet offer recommendations for how all states can improve their methods of handing and sharing election data.
“Everyone’s vote should count the same, and every voter deserves equal and effective access to the electoral process,” said Gordon-Rogers. “The best available evidence confirms that voters are more willing to participate when they have confidence that their vote will count. State and local election administrators can do a lot to build that confidence and encourage participation by sharing information in a clear and timely manner.”
Accompanying the release of the fact sheet and whitepaper, Gordon-Rogers has an explanation of UCS’s recommendations for election data transparency at the UCS blog.