The University of Wisconsin has issued this press release, publicizing a study conducted by four political scientists that says when states make it easy for any voter to vote in advance of the election, the net result can be a decrease in total turnout. The study concludes that early and absentee voting siphons energy away from groups that would otherwise be fully mobilized to get people to the polls on election day. The press release has a link to the study itself.

The York, Pennsylvania Daily Record has this story, reporting that seven write-in candidates were elected at the November 3, 2009 election, even though there were also candidates running in those elections who were listed on the ballot.

The November 18 issue of the Columbus, Ohio Dispatch has this op-ed, drawing attention to the ballot access improvement bill pending in the Ohio legislature. The timing is good, because that bill, HB 260, is expected to receive a vote in the Ohio House on November 18.

HB 260 is several hundred pages long, and deals with many aspects of election law. Until this op-ed was published, the Ohio newspapers had not even bothered to mention the ballot access improvements contained in that bill.

The op-ed is authored by Law Professor Mark Brown, who in the last few years has become one of the leading ballot access attorneys in the nation. He is currently representing minor parties in pending lawsuits in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.