“We have got to fix that.” On Election Night in 2012, six words by newly re-elected President Obama set a chain of events in motion. He was talking about the long lines at many polling places. A little over a year later the Presidential Commission for Election Administration (PCEA) presented their recommendations to help local and state elections officials improve all voters’ experience in casting their ballots. There were many amazing things about the PCEA. That it existed at all. Most of the time, the roughly 8,000 election administrators around the country do their jobs with little fanfare and little public attention. It was pretty exciting to see so many people working on fixing problems and offering best practices to support these officials as they support the voter. That it was bipartisan. In fact the chairs had been general counsel to opposing candidates in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. But most of all, that their recommendations — a set of practical, useful guidelines addressing real issues — have made a real and measurable difference, upping the game of election officials around the country.
Isn’t this old news? Why are we talking about this now? Because, suddenly, on January 28, 2017, supportthevoter.gov simply disappeared.
All of the resources they had collected, and video of the public meetings, the tools used by election administrators around the country, the research and written testimony on topics from ballot design to voter registration were simply wiped away.
In their place, a blank page at GSA.gov. Up in the corner of the page, a sad Skip to Content link sits with nowhere to send you.
Full Article: Where has supportthevoter.gov gone? | Center for civic design.