Resources

Creek and Karnes provide one of only a handful of analyses focusing on rural election administration. Their 2010 paper examines the challenges and costs of implementing HAVA requirements in rural jurisdictions, and whether state support can help equalize the costs of implementing these requirements in rural versus urban jurisdictions.

This 2009 study found that voter registration in Oregon cost more than $8.8 million during the 2008 election, a cost of $4.11 per active registered voter or $7.67 per voter registration transaction (adding new or updating existing voter records).

This March 2010 report provided a comprehensive examination of the implementation, operation, public confidence and usage of online voter registration in Arizona and Washington

Extending the "lost-votes" concept developed by the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, this law review article estimates the number of mail ballots "lost" in the 2008 election through problems with ballot transmission and ballot rejections.

This report reviews the underperformance of the current voter registration system and recommends a 21st century, data-driven registration system.

This paper is an early experimental study of the effects of vote-by-mail elections. Using individual voter data from California, the authors find that as-if random assignment of voters to cast mail ballots reduces turnout in state elections, although they do find positive turnout effect for special local elections.

This paper examines the role of poll worker characteristics, experience and training to explain variations in 'residual vote rates' throughout California. Authors find that a young and experience poll worker workforce, hands-on training and take-home references, alongside other factors help reduce errors. These findings bear important implications for poll worker recruitment and training, among other things.

In this paper, Berinsky examines electoral reforms design to make it easier for registered voters to cast their ballot. He finds that these reforms increase socioeconomic biases in the composition of the voting public and recommends using political engagement strategies to improve ballot access, rather than institutional changes.

This paper analyzes postregistration costs and state policies that can make it easier for registered citizens to vote. Authors find that mailing each registrant a sample ballot and information about the location of their polling place, and providing a longer voting day enhance turnout, especially by the young and the less educated.

This classic book examines the consequences winning and losing for the legitimacy of democratic political institutions and systems.

A foundational study of the early consequences of all vote-by-mail elections. This paper studies individual-level voter turnout data in Oregon and concludes that all vote-by-mail elections increase turnout by retaining voters in the electorate, rather than by allowing more low-propensity voters to participate.

Authors examine the question of whether or not conducting elections entirely through the mail rather than at the traditional polling place increases participation. Using election data from Oregon, the authors examine whether mail-based elections increase turnout in both local and statewide elections. The paper uses precinct-level data merged with census data. It finds that, while all-mail elections tend to produce higher turnout, the most significant increases occur in low-stimulus elections, such as local elections or primaries, where turnout is usually low. The increase in turnout, however, is not uniform across demographic groups. Voting only by mail is likely to increase turnout among those who are already predisposed to vote, such as those with higher socioeconomic status. This is one of the early foundational studies of voting by mail.