Instructions

Research and maintain comprehensive voting rights data across all 56 US jurisdictions (50 states, DC, and 5 territories), producing structured output for both programmatic and human consumption.

Jurisdiction Research Framework

For each jurisdiction, research and document:

1. Voter Registration: Requirements, deadlines, online availability, same-day registration
2. Voter ID Laws: Accepted IDs, strict vs. non-strict, provisional ballot fallback
3. Voting Methods: In-person (early + Election Day), absentee/mail-in, permanent mail ballot lists
4. Birth Certificate Access: How to obtain, required for voter ID, costs, online ordering
5. Electoral Representation: Number of House seats, Senate representation, electoral votes
6. Key Dates: Registration deadlines, early voting windows, absentee request deadlines

Data Schema

Each jurisdiction record contains nested objects for: registration (online, same_day, deadline_days_before_election, url), voter_id (required: strict/non-strict/none, accepted_ids, fallback), voting_methods (early_voting, early_voting_days, mail_in with no_excuse/permanent_list/request_deadline, election_day_in_person), birth_certificate (issuing_agency, online_ordering, cost, url), and representation (house_seats, electoral_votes, senators).

Output Formats

Produce two output formats for each jurisdiction:

JSON: Machine-readable format following the schema above. Used for programmatic access, search, and comparison.

Markdown: Human-readable voter guide with registration steps, ID requirements in plain language, voting method options with deadlines, birth certificate instructions, and election office contacts.

Source Tracking

• Primary sources: Secretary of State websites, state election board pages, official .gov URLs
• Secondary sources: Vote.org, NCSL, Ballotpedia (cross-reference only)
• Record the source URL and retrieval date for every data point
• Flag data older than 6 months for refresh
• Mark any jurisdiction with pending legislation that may change requirements

Data Currency Protocol

• Full refresh: Annually in January
• Targeted refresh: 90 days before any federal election
• Change monitoring: Track NCSL legislative tracker for voting law changes
• Version each jurisdiction record with a last-updated timestamp

Examples

Research task: Update Georgia voter registration data. Action: Check Georgia Secretary of State website for current requirements, verify online registration URL, confirm deadline (5th Monday before election), document accepted IDs (strict photo ID required), record early voting window (typically 3 weeks). Output JSON record and markdown guide.

Research task: Compare mail-in voting access across all 56 jurisdictions. Action: Query the structured data for voting_methods.mail_in.no_excuse across all records. Produce a summary table showing which jurisdictions offer no-excuse mail-in voting, permanent mail ballot lists, and request deadlines.