Tag: Voting
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The Silver Effect: What We Can Learn from Poll Aggregators
For those who now think Nate Silver is god, here’s a question: Can Nate Silver make a prediction so accurate that Nate Silver himself doesn’t believe it? Yes, he can–and he did. Silver famously predicted the results of Election 2012 correctly in every state. Yet while his per-state predictions added up to the 332 electoral…
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Tim Lee Reporting on NJ Email-Assisted Voting
Earlier this week, Professor Andrew Appel posted that “NJ Lt. Governor invites voters to submit invalid ballots“. Andrew has been offering updates at the bottom of his post since then. Professor Ed Felten also summarized the state of “New Jersey Voting in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,” concluding that, “I would strongly oppose any long-term…
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Get Out the Vote, Cee-Lo Style?
This semester, Ed Felten and I are teaching a Freshman Seminar called “Facebook: The Social Impact of Social Networks.” This week, the class is discussing a recent article published in the journal Nature, entitled “A 61-Million-Person Experiment in Social Influence and Political Mobilization“. The study reveals that if Facebook shows you a list of your…
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Romance & "Reality" in the 2012 Presidential Campaign
Romance and “reality” are in conflict as the 2012 Presidential campaign approaches its election day apex. While the 2012 Presidential campaign lacks the historical resonance of the 2008 campaign, the 2012 campaign is notable, in part, for the attention many are giving to the quantitative analysis of polling data, most famously prepared by Nate Silver.…
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Grading the absentee-in-person experience in Virginia
[Each year, I write a “my day as a pollworker” report. This year, I’m not a pollworker, or election officer in Virginia parlance, for a variety of reasons, so I decided to write about my voting experience.] I just got back from “in-person absentee voting”. This is similar to but not the same as early…
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New Jersey Voting in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy has disrupted many aspects of life here in New Jersey. Even beyond the physical destruction, the state’s infrastructure is still coming back on line. Many homes are still without power and heat, and some roads are closed. Schools were closed all of last week, and some will be closed for longer. Sandy has…
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NJ Lt. Governor invites voters to submit invalid ballots
On November 3rd, the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey issued a directive, well covered in the media, permitting storm-displaced New Jersey voters to vote by e-mail. The voter is to call or e-mail the county clerk to request an absentee ballot by e-mail or fax, then the voter returns the ballot by e-mail or fax:…
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"E-Voting: Risk and Opportunity" Live Stream Tomorrow at 1:30pm Eastern
Despite the challenges due to Hurricane Sandy earlier this week, the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton is still hosting “E-Voting: Risk and Opportunity,” a live streamed symposium on the state and future of voting technology. At 1:30pm (Eastern) on November 1, 2012, electronic voting experts from across the United States will discuss what…
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Uncertified voting equipment
(Or, why doing the obvious thing to improve voter throughput in Harris County early voting would exacerbate a serious security vulnerability.) I voted today, using one of the many early voting centers in my county. I waited roughly 35 minutes before reaching a voting machine. Roughly 1/3 of the 40 voting machines at the location…
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Can you Hear me Now? In 2012, Some Political Pollsters Still Can’t
Recently, I received a call from Gallup on our landline home phone, seeking to speak with my wife, presumably for a political poll. Because she was not at home at the time, Gallup’s representative told me he would call back later. To our knowledge that follow-up call never came. Gallup’s representative never asked me for…