In 2013, The Pew Charitable Trusts unveiled the Elections Performance Index (EPI), which provided the first comprehensive assessment of election administration in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Now, the online interactive tool has been updated to include data from 2014, allowing users to compare midterm elections for the first time.
Read MoreConnecticut Secretary of State Denise W. Merrill’s office recently completed development of a real-time election reporting system, which allows local officials to enter the returns for their jurisdictions online and makes those unofficial election results immediately available for public view. The system, developed by PCC Technology Group, a technology company based in Windsor, Connecticut, will be used by every city and town in the state during the November general election.
Read MoreIn an effort to increase voter participation, especially among millennials, the Rhode Island secretary of state’s office recently developed and released an updated, mobile-friendly version of its Voter Information Center.
Read MoreIn March, VIP’s election information was accessed nearly 2 million times. This year, Pew, in collaboration with the Internet Association, relaunched the Get to the Polls website, which provides another way to access VIP information. The site allows voters to enter their addresses and find the locations and hours of their polling places, as well as ballot and candidate information for supported statewide and municipal elections. Get to the Polls had approximately 1.5 million visitors in March.
Read MoreWith the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary over, the presidential campaign now moves into the heart of the primary schedule. Thirty-one states will hold elections in the next five weeks, and millions of voters will need to know where to vote and what’s on their ballots.
Read MoreThe Voting Information Project (VIP) is significantly expanding its support of state and local elections in 2016. In addition to the Nov. 8 general election, the project will provide critical information, such as polling place locations and ballot summaries, for voters in more than 70 elections, starting in January. The races include presidential primaries in 32 states and statewide primaries in 41 states, as well as runoffs where applicable, and dozens of local and municipal elections, including fire district and school board races across the country. VIP will not provide information for caucuses.
Read MoreThe Voting Information Project (VIP) will support at least 15 statewide and municipal elections on Nov. 3, including statewide races in Kentucky, New Jersey, and Virginia. VIP ensures that voters can access official election information for all races, big and small, through a variety of platforms. This cycle, voters and organizations have two new options for accessing this information.
Read MoreThe Pew Charitable Trusts' Voting Information Project (VIP), in collaboration with The Internet Association, is relaunching the Get to the Polls website—after its successful debut in 2014—to help voters find the information they need to vote this fall. The site allows voters to enter their addresses and find the location and hours of their polling place and ballot and candidate information. Get to the Polls will be available from October 22 through November 3 and displays voting information for all VIP-supported statewide and municipal elections.
Read MoreA new short code for the Voting Information Project (VIP) short messaging service (SMS) is now available to provide voters with election information via text message. Voters can text “VOTE” or the Spanish “VOTO” to GOVOTE (468683) to find polling places, contact information for local election officials, and registration website links.
Read MoreThe Voting Information Project (VIP) recently completed its first pilot program in West Virginia, providing the state with a new, streamlined approach to manage, clean, and report its elections and voting data.
Read MoreAs VIP has evolved, so has its data specification—a standard format that ensures consistency in collection and dissemination—and in September, VIP announced a new specification, VIP 5.0 that gives the aggregated data a more detailed structure.
Read MoreOn May 5, 2015, Governor Mike Pence signed a bill into law solidifying Indiana’s participation in the Voting Information Project (VIP) and making it the first state to affirm its commitment through legislation.
Read MoreOn July 22 at the University of Texas in Austin, the Knight Foundation, in partnership with the Democracy Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Rita Allen Foundation, announced 22 winners (out of more than 1,000 submissions) of the Knight News Challenge on elections.
Read MoreIn 2014, the Voting Information Project (VIP) released the customizable Voting Information Tool, which delivers up-to-date official voting information online or via mobile devices using just a residential address. To make the tool even easier to customize, VIP has built a widget that walks users through the process of adding branded content.
Read MoreAt a July 9 reception at the National Association of Secretaries of State 2015 Summer Conference in Portland, Maine, Google presented awards to seven states—Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin—for their commitment to using new technologies to serve their voters.
Read MoreAlthough the official information that voters access from the Voting Information Project is delivered in a simple, easy-to-understand way, the work involved in making sure it is complete, up-to-date, and accurate is complex. Pew has created an infographic that illustrates the VIP process, providing an in-depth look at the four-step method of standardizing, validating, and publishing state election data.
Read MoreOver the past year the project and the board collaborated to make essential information readily available to voters for all of the city’s elections.
Read MoreDemocracy Works is a nonpartisan, nonprofit dedicated to the idea that voting should fit the way we live. In this guest post, Noma Thayer, data technologist for Democracy Works’ VIP team, offers insight into her role working with local elections offices around the country.
Read MoreElection night results reporting is often the most public part of an election official’s job. Consolidating returns from jurisdictions that employ various data formatting, vendors, and equipment can be difficult. By instituting a standard data structure, however, election officials can streamline the delivery of results from precincts to county election offices to the state.
Read MoreLos Angeles County turned to Pew’s Voting Information Project (VIP), making the county’s official information available through VIP’s free tools and apps, including the customizable Voting Information Tool (VIT) and the texting or short messaging service tool, which provide voters easy access to election information online and through mobile devices.
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