Voting Rights Watch: Election Protection calls for voting reform

Election Protection reports that they received more than 86,000 calls from voters across the country. They also provide a break-down of some of the important lessons learned during this historic election cycle:

Improve Voter Registration Process
The most prevalent and alarming challenge to our electoral process today came in the form of voter registration problems. Voters across the country arrived at the polls to find that their registrations had never been processed, that their names had been purged from voter lists, or that they had missed the registration deadlines altogether. Our first priority for improving this flawed system should be to make the registration process fair, accurate and efficient.

Combating Deceptive Practices
Voters in nearly a dozen states today received misinformation about polling locations, times and rules. It's easier than ever to disseminate deceptive information quickly - and with new mediums - and our election system needs to adapt accordingly to combat these practices and minimize the effects of partisan tricks.

Upgrade the Administration Process
In Ohio, Missouri, Virginia and numerous other states, eligible voters were forced to cast provisional ballots because of ballots shortages, and were hampered by poorly trained poll workers, and broken voting machines. These problems could have been avoided if the administration of our electoral process provided officials and poll locations with the resources needed to handle the weight of full participation.

Expanding the Vote
We saw fewer problems in states with early voting. Early voting takes pressure off the system by easing the crush on Election Day, and by providing a margin for error when testing new systems of election administration. Today's voters should not be constrained to a single day in which to cast a ballot.