The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "ballots" ...
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Voter Patrol
The NEWS4 I-Team dug through more than 600 phone and email tips to break three major election stories before, during and immediately after the presidential election. About two weeks before the election, we asked viewers to tell us when they saw problems when they voted. The response was immediate. Our two-man team went through every tip and beat out the AP, the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other local stations on the biggest election stories in our area. Our first story revealed absentee ballots sent out in Maryland were missing their second page, which contained the most contested ballot initiatives including legalized gambling, same-sex marriage and the DREAM Act. This story was picked up across the nation and led to statements made by the Maryland Governor and the various interest groups involved in the ballot issues.
Tags: Elections; presidential elections; votes; presidential reporting; ballot issues
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Who Can Vote? Comprehensive Database of U.S. Voter Fraud Uncovers No Evidence That Photo ID Is Needed
“Who Can Vote?” is the 2012 project of News21, a multimedia investigative reporting initiative funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and headquartered at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Twenty-four students from 11 universities across the country worked on the project under the direction of journalism professionals. The project, launched just before the 2012 political conventions, consists of more than 20 in-depth reports and rich multimedia content that includes interactive databases and data visualizations, video profiles and photo galleries. Student reporters conducted an exhaustive public records search and built a comprehensive data base of voter fraud cases that revealed: • Since 2000, while fraud has occurred, the number of cases is infinitesimal. • In-person voter impersonation on Election Day, which prompted 37 state legislatures to enact or consider tough voter ID laws, is virtually non-existent. Only 10 such cases over more than a decade were reported. • There is more fraud in absentee ballots and voter registration than any other category. The analysis shows 329 cases of absentee ballot fraud and 364 cases of registration fraud. A required photo ID at the polls would not have prevented these cases. • Voters make a lot of mistakes, from people accidentally voting twice to voting in the wrong precinct. However, few cases reveal a coordinated effort to change election results. • Election officials make a lot of mistakes, giving voters ballots when they’ve already voted, for instance. Election workers are often confused about voters’ eligibility requirements.
Tags: elections; fraud; public records; voters; ballot
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What Trinity Toll Road Backers Didn't Tell Us
In 2007, Dallas voters rendered a judgement on the largest public works project in city history, casting ballots in a referendum that had become a surprisingly close, all-in-battle between grassroots activists and the Dallas business and cultural establishment. The question- should the city's multi-billion plan to transform Dallas' long-neglected riverfront into a massive series of parks, forests, white-water rapids, and other natural wonders be built, as planned, with a $2 billion high-speed toll road running right through it?
Tags: Dallas; 2007; Toll Road; Grassroots Activist
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Bloomberg's Offshore Millions/The Secret Campaign of Mayor Mike
The two stories take an unprecedented look at Mayor Michael Bloomberg's finances. One story uncovers how Bloomberg used a loophole to invest charitable funds in overseas tax havens. The other story examines the questionable tactics of his secretive campaign effort called "ballot security."
Tags: Bloomberg; mayor; election; finances; campaign spending
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Making Mistakes: Absentee Ballot Investigation
The story reveals problems with the counting of absentee ballots for the 2008 US Senate election recount. Apparently, absentee ballots were being accepted and counted, even though they didn’t follow the strict rules of the state. The final margin of victory was “312 votes”. Not a large number and leads to suspicion, which has made way for changes in the way future votes will be counted.
Tags: Al Franken; Norm Coleman; Senator; state government; general elections; senate seat; election judge
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Vote early, vote often
Joint venture between WSB-TV in Atlanta and WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. The investigation uncovered voter fraud on the eve of the 2008 presidential election and and proved there to be no federal oversight to prevent voters from casting ballots in multiple states. The reporters took advantage of newly enacted voting laws in their states to track and compare the master voter rolls and early voting records of registered voters in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. They found more than 100,000 people who appeared to be registered in more than one states, with the potential to vote in both. They also found three individuals who already had used new early voting laws to cast ballots in both Florida and Georgia, a felony crime. They found an additional 12 people who had already voted in one state and also received an absentee ballot from another.
Tags: voter fraud; 2008 presidential election; Ohio; Florida; Georgia; absentee ballots; duplicate votes
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The Gender Boondoggle
Christine Pelisek probed a department steeped in tradition yet struggling to improve its image following a series of fire house pranks and allegations of racism and cover-ups. The result was a fascinating, controversial story that helped fuel calls for an inspector general or independent assessor to review the LAFD's problems with minorities and women. A proposal linked to this story was slated for the 2009 Los Angeles municipal ballot
Tags: fire departments; discrimination; women; minorities; Los Angeles Fire Department; racism
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New York University Election Scandal
When a student president candidate promised to make the budget of New York University's College of Arts and Science transparent, the council president removed her from the ballot. This series investigates the current president and why she tried so hard to keep the budget a secret.
Tags: budget transparency; student council; higher education; elections; New York University; Meredith Dolgin; Jenny Shen; corruption
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The Trouble with Touchscreens
"A seven month investigation of the problems- not only with touch screen voting machines, but possible causes for the paper ballot problems that plagued the U.S. Presidential election in 2000."
Tags: voting; presidential elections; elections; electronic voting
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An Inconvenient truth: Investigative Stories by Andy Meek
This is a collection of investigative pieces reporter Andy Meek did for the Daily News (Memphis, TN) during the last half of 2006. His election story summarized "the inability of local elected officials to prepare properly for the longest ballot in Shelby County history." "Major Hollywood Studio Eyes Memphis" broke the news that Memphis was being considered as a production hub. Also included is a story on property tax overpayments and three stories that provided "exclusive details about a real estate deal that figured prominently in the arrest of two Memphis City Council members."
Tags: elections; film production; property taxes; Diebold electronic voting machines; Tennessee Board of Equalization; reappraisal; Village Roadshow; political corruption scandals; digital billboards; outdoor advertising