Congressional Research Service Reports - 30 Matching Results
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- Electoral College Reform: 111th Congress Proposals and Other Current Developments
- This report examines and analyzes alternative proposals for change to the electoral college system, presents pro and con arguments, and identifies and analyzes 111th Congress proposals and contemporary alternative reform developments.
- Procedures for Contested Election Cases in the House of Representatives
- Under the U.S. Constitution, each House of Congress has the express authority to be the judge of the "elections and returns" of its own Members. Although initial challenges and recounts for the House are conducted at the state level, under the state's authority to administer federal elections, continuing contests may be presented to the House, which, as the final arbiter, may make a conclusive determination of a claim to the seat. This report describes these procedures.
- Election Reform and Electronic Voting Systems (DREs): Analysis of Security Issues
- This report discusses several questions about voting-system security. To address these questions, this report begins with a description of the historical and policy context of the controversy. That is followed by an analysis of the issues in the broader context of computer security. The next section discusses several proposals that have been made for addressing those issues, and the last section discusses options for action that might be considered by policymakers.
- Kenya: Current Conditions and the Challenges Ahead
- This report discusses the current political conditions of Kenya, which has long been an important ally of the United States. The report focuses particularly on the December 2007 elections, which many international observers have declared as rigged and deeply flawed. The report also discusses violence that erupted once election results were announced, as well as U.S. efforts to urge Kenya toward election reforms.
- Elections in States Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
- The aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita created staggering problems and challenging conditions for the people of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, as well as for the state and local governments there. Many problems were immediately apparent, whereas others that involved ongoing government functions, such as elections, were less obvious at first. This report discusses the challenge of running elections in the many affected communities.
- Kenya: The December 2007 Elections and the Challenges Ahead
- This report discusses an overview of the December 2007 elections and the challenges of Kenya.
- Federal Role in U.S. Campaigns and Elections: An Overview
- This report provides a resource for understanding the current campaigns and elections regulatory structure. It addresses those areas of law and public policy that most directly and routinely affect American campaigns and elections: campaign finance; election administration; election security; redistricting; qualifications and contested elections; and voting rights.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Issues in the 115th Congress
- This report examines the political and economic environment in Latin America and the Caribbean and U.S. policy toward the region in the 115th Congress, highlighting congressional interest and legislative action.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: Fact Sheet on Leaders and Elections
- This report provides data on current Latin American and Caribbean leaders and the date of their last election as well as the next scheduled election.
- Super PACs in Federal Elections: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report provides context for understanding what super PACs might mean for federal campaign finance policy and federal elections using a question-and-answer format with attention to super PAC activities in 2010 and 2012, and what those findings might mean looking ahead.
- Elections Reform: Overview and Issues
- No Description Available.
- Elections Reform: Overview and Issues
- No Description Available.
- The State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress
- This report discusses selected litigation to demonstrate how those events have changed the campaign finance landscape and affected the policy issues that may confront Congress, but it is not a constitutional or legal analysis. Campaign finance data appears throughout the report.
- The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act: Overview and Issues
- This report discusses the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986, which was enacted to improve absentee registration and voting for this group of voters and to consolidate existing laws.
- Postponement and Rescheduling of Elections to Federal Office
- No Description Available.
- Campaign Financing
- This is one report in the series of reports that discuss the campaign finance practices and related issues. Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. The report talks about the today’s paramount issues such as perceived loopholes in current law and the longstanding issues: overall costs, funding sources, and competition.
- Implications of Iranian Elections
- This report briefly describes the Iranian election process and the implications of this Election's results. On February 26, 2016, Iran held elections for the 290-seat Majles (parliament) and for the 88-seat body called the "Assembly of Experts," which is empowered to choose a successor to the Supreme Leader and rewrite Iran's constitution.
- Speakers of the House: Elections, 1913-2017
- This report provides data on elections of the Speaker in each Congress since 1913, when the House first reached its present size of 435 Members. During that period (63rd through 115th Congresses), a Speaker was elected five times with the votes of less than a majority of the full membership.
- Funding of Presidential Nominating Conventions: An Overview
- This report provides a historical overview of how Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF) convention funding functioned. It also describes private funding sources that remain available after legislation (H.R. 2019) became law (P.L. 113-94) eliminating PECF funding for convention operations.
- Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money
- Soft money is a major issue in the campaign finance reform debate because these generally unregulated funds are perceived as resulting from a loophole in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Generally, soft money is funds that are raised and spent according to applicable state laws, which FECA prohibits from being spent directly on federal elections, but that may have an indirect influence on federal elections. This Issue Brief discusses three major types of soft money: political party soft money, corporate and labor union soft money, and soft money used for issue advocacy communications.
- Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money
- Prior to enactment of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), P.L. 107-155, the term “soft money” generally referred to unregulated funds, perceived as resulting from loopholes in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), 2 U.S.C. §§ 431 et seq. Generally, the intent of BCRA, (effective Nov. 6, 2002), which amends FECA, is to restrict the raising and spending of soft money. This Issue Brief discusses constitutional and legal issues surrounding two major types of soft money that BCRA regulates: political party soft money and soft money used for issue advocacy communications. Corporate and labor union soft money, which FECA exempts from regulation and is not addressed by BCRA, is also discussed.
- Campaign Finance: An Overview
- This report gives an overview of the concerns related to financing Federal election campaigning. The contents include Campaign finance practices and policy options to address campaign issues
- Campaign Finance
- This report details the information related to concerns over financing federal elections campaigning, It also discusses Campaign finance practices, proposals on enduring issues, and closing efforts to close perceived loopholes.
- Coup in Georgia [Republic]: Recent Developments and Implications
- This report examines the ouster of Georgia's President Eduard Shevardnadze in the wake of a legislative election that may Georgians viewed as not free and fair.
- Premature Release of Election Results and Election Predictions 1967
- This report documents possible future outcomes of elections for the federal office.
- Moldova: A Pivotal Election?
- This report discusses Moldova's presidential election on October 30, 2016. This is the first time since 1996 that Moldova's president is being elected by a popular vote.
- Georgia's October 2013 Presidential Election: Outcome and Implications
- This report discusses Georgia's October 27, 2013, presidential election and its implications for U.S. interests. The election took place one year after a legislative election that witnessed the mostly peaceful shift of legislative and ministerial power from the ruling party, the United National Movement (UNM), to the Georgia Dream (GD) coalition bloc.
- Campaign Finance: Constitutionality of Limits on Contributions and Expenditures
- The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law.... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." This provision limits the government's power to restrict speech. In 1976, the Supreme Court issued its landmark campaign finance ruling in Buckley v. Valeo. In Buckley, the Court determined that limits on campaign contributions, which involve giving money to an entity, and expenditures, which involve spending money directly for electoral advocacy, implicate rights of political expression and association under the First Amendment. In view of the fact that contributions and expenditures facilitate speech, the Court concluded, they cannot be regulated as mere conduct. This report contains information on allowed contributions and expenditures.
- Ukraine: Current Issues and U.S. Policy
- This report discusses the current political and economic situation in Ukraine. It also discusses Ukraine's foreign policy, especially in respect to NATO, European Union, and Russia. The Ukraine's energy issues are also briefly deliberated in this report.
- Haiti: Developments and U.S. Policy Since 1991 and Current Congressional Concerns
- Following elections that were widely heralded as the first free and fair elections in Haiti's then-186-year history, Jean-Bertrand Aristide first became Haitian President in February 1991. Elections held under Aristide and his successor, Rene Preval (1996-2000), including the one in which Aristide was reelected in 2000, were marred by alleged irregularities, low voter turnout, and opposition boycotts. Congressional concerns regarding Haiti include fostering stability and democratic development, the cost and effectiveness of U.S. assistance, protection of human rights, improvement of security conditions, combating narcotics trafficking, addressing Haitian migration, and alleviating poverty.