Seven Days to Win, Seven Days to Lose

"We can go to the moon, split atoms to power submarines, squeeze profits from a 99 cent hamburger and watch football highlights on cell phones. But the most successful democracy in human history has yet to figure out how to conduct a proper election."

1. The Database Dilemma
Back in Mississippi last March, an election official wrongly purged 10,000 people from the voting rolls — including a Republican congressional candidate — while using her home computer.

2. 'Mickey Mouse' Registrations And Polling-Place Challenges
Republican protesters have started crashing political events in squirrel costumes.

3. Bad Forms
Until the palm beach county butterfly ballot had its 15 minutes of fame, few believed that bad design could determine the fate of the world.

4. The Voting-Machine Fiasco
But in a single, Democratic-leaning county, more than 18,000 voters mysteriously failed to record a selection in the congressional race, an undervote as much as six times the rate of other counties.

5. Unequal Distribution of Resources
While suburban precincts had enough machines so voters didn't have to wait, largely Democratic precincts in Columbus had lines with four-hour waits — often in the rain.

6. New Burdens of Proof
But an explosion in voter-identification laws has raised the prospect that thousands will turn up to vote next month and find themselves turned away.

7. Confusing Rules, Bad Information
Anonymous automated phone calls warn people that they will be arrested at the polls or that their polling places have moved.

7 Things That Could Go Wrong on Election Day
by Michael Scherer from TIME.com

Sounds scary, right? All these things are terrifying, but it doesn't have to happen to YOU. It shouldn't be difficult to vote in this election if you're armed with information and put in a little effort of preparation and planning. And, if you're able, you can also volunteer in many ways and many places, such as at the polls.

Hopefully, The Voter Information Project will help streamline the process to allow every single one of us to be heard.

State and local elections officials can now spend less time and money gathering and sharing voting information. In partnership with a group of state elections officials, the Voting Information Project developed a standard format to easily collect and distribute voting information. Using this open and non-proprietary data format, elections officials can share their voting information securely. Follow the links below or visit About the Project to learn more about how you can help voters get easy access to essential voting information.