Primary Focus Report Highlights: Republicans Gain, Democrats Drop in 2016 Turnout
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on June 03, 2016

The complete report will analyzing in greater detail the effect of open vs. closed primaries, and changes in voter access laws, and the turnout changes in the current primary contests compared to the primary contests in 2008.
Read morePrimary Focus: Meaningful Access for Early Voters
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on April 29, 2016

Every American voter has the right to participate in elections, but not everyone can get to their local high school gym, spend an hour in line, and fill out a ballot on a work day in the middle of the week.
Read moreVirginia restores voting rights for ex-felons
Posted on Quick News Demarquin Johnson on April 25, 2016
On Friday, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order that would allow ex-felons the right to vote. More than 200,000 Virginia residents who have served their sentences and been released from parole or probation will benefit.
Read moreRanked Choice Voting Poll for Maryland's 8th Congressional District Primaries
Posted on Quick News Demarquin Johnson on April 14, 2016
When Representative Chris Van Hollen announced his statewide campaign for the U.S. Senate, his congressional seat opened up. Participate in our ranked choice voting poll for primaries in Maryland's 8th Congressional District.
Read morePrimary Focus: Understanding Voter Turnout
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on March 24, 2016

The very fact that voters are segregated by party affiliation to choose nominees means the emerging candidate pool will naturally have viewpoints that skew to their party’s more vocal base. Whether it is a local mayoral election or a statewide senate race, candidates hoping to secure their party’s nomination often veer to the extreme.
Read morePrimary Focus: Proportional Primaries Respect All Votes
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on March 16, 2016

Last night, the Republican party held their first winner-take-all primaries in Ohio and Florida, while Democrats continued with strictly proportional contests in all five of their voting states. The differences in these delegate allocation methods have major ramifications for how the nomination race is unfolding for each party.
Read morePrimary Focus: Super Tuesday
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on March 02, 2016

As we get closer and closer to the national conventions for both parties, the rules surrounding how delegates are allocated and how they vote are taking center stage.
Read morePrimary Focus: Civility, The Missing Ingredient
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on February 26, 2016

With ranked choice voting (RCV), voters are exposed to a different type of election experience. Voters benefit from indicating their full preference among candidates by ranking their options instead of only choosing one. In addition, voters see less negativity between candidates.
Read morePrimary Focus: Youth Engagement in Primaries
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on February 22, 2016

FairVote is a national advocate for 17-year-old participation in primary elections. We provide resources for citizens, legislators, and researchers who are advocating on this issue. Currently, only twenty-one states permit 17-year-olds who will turn 18 on or before Election Day to vote in one or both political parties’ nominating contest.
Read morePrimary Focus: The New Hampshire Primaries
Posted on What's New Molly Rockett, Demarquin Johnson on February 12, 2016

On Tuesday, New Hampshire voters in both parties delivered a clear rebuke to the so-called “establishment” candidates by selecting Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders as landslide winners of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. In the Democratic contest, Sanders easily outpaced Hillary Clinton, earning 60% of the vote and 15 of 24 delegates -- remarkable in part because Sanders is an independent in the U.S. Senate and has never run before as a Democrat.
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