Joshua A. Douglas, a Law Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law, specializes in Election Law. He is the author of "A Checklist Manifesto for Election Day: How to Prevent Mistakes at the Polls," 43 Florida State Law Review, and the co-editor of a new book, "Election Law Stories."
This Commentary is from Reuters Election United States page.
Throughout the 2016 Presidential Primaries, voters trying to cast a ballot have faced significant hurdles on Election Day.
Fortunately, there is a potent tool to fix these errors: checklists. All poll workers should have easy-to-follow checklists readily available at their precincts.
CLICK HERE to view the 48 page (PDF) Checklist.
Voters, too, can benefit from checklists. There could be a pre-election-day checklist mailed to all voters on what to bring to the polls. Or States could provide a checklist for filling out an absentee ballot. Indeed, after Minnesota’s 2008 Senate election went to the courts because of issues with absentee balloting, the State reformed its voter instructions to include checklist-like guides with absentee ballots. The state has not had reported problems with absentee ballots since.
Checklists offer an easy fix to some U.S. election woes. County election officials can make checklists available at polling stations without the need for legislation or a major political battle. Existing training guides just need simplification and reformatting on the most critical items. Election-day checklists must be short, five to nine items is ideal. They should be simple and precise, and tested in simulations before Election Day as part of poll-worker training.
CLICK HERE to read the Commentary.
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