Accountable Government

States don't really know how many of their residents are poor.  The current federal poverty measure uses a forty-year old, widely criticized methodology.  It neither accounts for many of the resources poor families receive from the government, such as Food Stamps and the EITC, nor does it, conversely, factor in many additional expenses the poor face that are not accounted for in the federal measure, such as transportation costs, child care and local costs of living. 

Although election advocates place great emphasis on reducing barriers
to voter participation, calls to voting hotlines show that obtaining basic information such as where exactly to vote presents one of the most widespread hurdles to voting.  Because of this, easily accessible voting information would go a long way in facilitating voter participation.