photo by: Courtesy: Dole Institute

The Dole Institute of Politics on the West Campus of the University of Kansas.

The Dole Institute of Politics has been chosen as one of two U.S. centers to create a national report on how to better fund and strengthen local and state election systems.

The Dole Institute and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate have recently received funding from the Election Trust Initiative to create a joint report that will gather data on how local and state election systems are funded, what best practices are used in the industry, and examine whether the system is adequately funded to remain secure and stable.

“Local administration of elections is essential, yet resources are uneven and often inadequate to support the complex infrastructure a modern election demands,” Audrey Coleman, director of the Dole Institute, said in a press release. “This initiative examines various ways in which that gap can be closed to promote safety, security and trust in our electoral processes.”

The Election Trust Initiative, which is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trust, has received more than $100 million in contributions to further its mission that U.S. election systems are “secure, transparent, accurate and convenient.” The amount of the grant award to the Dole and Kennedy institutes was not disclosed.

The report by the two centers is expected to explore a variety of funding systems that states or local governments could use to provide election administrators more resources to strengthen voting systems.

“Our goal is to support the tireless elections administrators who are the backbone of our democracy,” said Adam Hinds, CEO of the Kennedy Institute, which is located in Boston. “We need a strong 21st century election system in America, and part of achieving that is understanding the range of funding sources and options today.”

Researchers in KU’s nationally-ranked School of Public Affairs & Administration are expected to contribute to the report, especially in the area of election administration funding, KU said in a release.