How Elections Work
The mechanics of how elections work in the United States are often very technical and specific. Here's what you need to know.
Write-in votes frequently lead to ties in municipal election cycles.
It’s a technical, often confusing process involving maps, math, and politics. Here are 7 questions to test your knowledge.
The legislation arose after Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s failed attempts to get off the presidential ballot in 2024.
Our staff nominated nine housepets as candidates. Find out which animal clawed its way to the top.
The proposal would also require counties to perform risk-limiting audits of results.
A guide to understanding the conflict between improving election security and safeguarding voting rights.
Three counties are getting rid of ballot-marking machines and having voters fill in their choices by hand.
Ranked choice voting is still a new, unfamiliar concept for most Americans. Tell us your questions, so we can help you understand it better.
The president, seizing on assertions by Vladimir Putin, promises to ‘lead a movement’ for paper ballots. But here’s what you should know about the security of voting by mail.
Counties with traveling technicians can get problems at polling sites fixed quickly.
Translating election materials is complex and costly for municipalities. More statewide coordination could help.
Proposals to give independent and unaffiliated voters a greater voice are popular, but face tough odds in the legislature.
Bipartisan legislation loosens the rules for finding workers, which is a struggle for small counties. Will that be enough?
Extra weekend hours could improve turnout, but election officials expect some challenges with staffing.
They’re pushing for a repeal of a measure that requires ID numbers on some absentee ballots. Redacting them is a chore.
The technology helps speed up vote counting, but critics say it doesn’t leave a verifiable paper trail. Getting rid of it could be costly.
Election officials throughout the country rely on a voter-verified paper trail. But the president’s supporters are pushing for eliminating machines, which could undermine election security and efficiency.
Under the state’s unusual rules, poll workers will be on the ballot in the May primary. Here’s how you can become a candidate.
The job of a local clerk is critical, but a growing workload and the threat of harassment deter potential candidates.
Wisconsin has written uniform guidelines for how to cast absentee ballots, but local clerks are free to alter them, creating new rules that aren’t backed by state law.