Helping Election Officials Connect Voters with the Information They Need

One of the primary benefits of the Voting Information Project (VIP) is that it can make official election information available to voters via information providers like campaigns, voter protection hotlines, Internet search engines, universities and other civic groups so they can help shoulder the burden of answering voters' questions about where to vote. This is especially important when polling place locations change between one election and the next.

Maryland held local elections this week, and in some locations, the municipal boards of elections needed to change some polling locations.

In Fredrick, Maryland, voters normally use, among other locations, schools as polling places. However, this year, because school was in session during the election, the school board excluded the city from using school property for voting.

The city's efforts to inform voters about the changes included maps posted at public facilities, advertisements in local newspapers, public service announcements on local radio and notification on public access channels, but no efforts were made to reach out to voters via the Internet or mobile technology.

In the Annapolis, Maryland election, word about polling place changes didn't reach all voters and confusion reigned on election day:

"The fact that a lot of the polling places are changed is definitely confusing people," mayoral candidate Josh Cohen said this morning.

Despite election officials' best efforts, not all voters learn about polling place changes through official communications from their local boards of elections. Other civic organizations can step in and help advertise changes, and voters can use Internet search engines to find out about changes, but only if these information providers have a way of obtaining official polling place data in an easy and cheap way. VIP ensures that anyone interested in helping voters get to the polls has the up-to-date, official version of the data. By adopting VIP, a State or locality can efficiently issue accurate information to interested information providers, who can then help communicate any changes to voters.

For more information, contact us at info@votinginforproject.org.