Successful program finds voters who moved or died. Why are states leaving it before 2024 elections?

In an effort to minimize disruptions from impassioned poll watchers, one Texas county enhanced transparency by offering tours of the elections office, installing large TV screens to broadcast the tabulation process, publicly posting often-requested information online, and hosting workshops to walk residents through every step of election procedures. The county has been praised for its approach and the 2022 midterm election went off without any outbursts from voting activists.

Governments, companies, and nonprofits are using a strategy called "pre-bunking" to teach people the tactics and strategies behind misinformation so that they can recognize and scrutinize it when they see it online. After Twitter released several dozen pre-bunks about elections in the United States and Brazil, about 39 percent of users they surveyed said they were more confident that there wouldn't be election fraud, and about half said they were able to pause and question what they saw in online posts.

Michigan is among the states that participate in the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a program that cross references voter registration and Social Security death data across state lines to help local officials identify and address duplicate registrations. Over the past four years, the state has canceled the registrations of more than 400,000 voters who died and more than 170,000 whose residency changed.

In Oregon, voters are automatically registered when they get their driver's license, and voters are automatically sent a ballot when election time comes. The state had the highest turnout rate in the country in the 2022 midterm election, with 61.5% of eligible citizens casting a ballot.

Ahead of the 2022 midterms, election officials across the country ramped up their social media efforts by leveraging strategies used by those who spread disinformation, with many local governments using templates created by the National Association of State Election Directors. Officials also used social media to quell rumors and conspiracy theories in the midst of the election, such as in Maricopa County, where quick online outreach about technical difficulties with voting machines resulted in less online speculation than the county experienced in 2020.

The Sequim Good Governance League (SGGL) formed in response to right-wing agitators taking over positions of power and spreading misinformation. SGGL recruited progressive and moderately conservative candidates who successfully defeated incumbents with the help of dozens of volunteers they trained. Volunteers worked around the clock, sent out emails, put up signs around the town, and used their most effective tool: having one-on-one conversations with other residents. SGGL-backed candidates now hold the majority of government offices.

Ahead of Nigeria’s general election, a group of 12 media platforms and civil society organizations worked together as the Nigeria Factcheckers Coalition to debunk false information targeting voters. The coalition, which provided training and tools to participating journalists, fact-checked 127 during the week of the elections.

To make sure its elections run smoothly, the tiny election staff in one Pennsylvania county coordinates helpers from across the county government's departments, who process mail-in ballots while full-time staff oversee in-person voting. The office also invites the public to observe the election process and weigh in on important decisions, such as what type of voting machines are used.

To bolster the security of the 2022 midterm election, officials released frequent alerts and updates about disinformation, cyber threats, and potential physical threats to election workers. A special task force investigated threats against election officials and brought forward four federal cases and several state prosecutions related to the incidents.

Ahead of the midterms, election officials ramped up their communication, outreach, and transparency efforts, setting up live cameras at ballot boxes and in counting rooms, offering special sealed ballots to voters who requested their ballot be hand-counted, and coordinating with organizations that trained volunteers to prevent voter intimidation at polling sites. Though a handful of election deniers continued to sow doubt in the system, experts and poll workers say the election generally ran smoothly and the majority of losing candidates have accepted the results of their races.