Research/Publications

Project Vote is the preeminent source of information on election and voting issues that affect underrepresented Americans. Our research and publications cover a wide range of topics, including electorate composition and state compliance with federal election law as well as broader policy issues that improve access or raise barriers to democracy. The following works come in an array of formats, from expansive reports, briefing papers, guides, and fact sheets to model bills, legal opinions, and testimony. You can search for publications by type, issue or state.

For further discussion on these issues, please visit Voting Matters Blog.

Research & Publication Categories

Featured Publication

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No Match, No Vote Policy Paper

Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002 to impose fair and more uniform standards for state election administration, including provisions to streamline and modernize voter registration databases and establish identification requirements. However, some states have misinterpreted the law and passed onerous “No Match, No Vote” laws. Under such statutes, if a state is unable to match the information on a voter’s registration application with information in an existing government database, the application is denied outright. As the new paper explains, however, research shows that matching voter data with other government databases is an unreliable, error-laden process, and that conditioning the right to vote on such a flawed system will inevitably disenfranchise eligible citizens.

No Match, No Vote summarizes the history, research, and key court cases related to the issue, and provides recommended best practices for states to adopt to help ensure that no eligible citizen is disenfranchised.