Resources

Hostetter argues that portable poll worker registration—permitting registered voters to work statewide in any election precinct—increases the ease of filling poll worker positions. She uses the 2008-2018 Election Administration and Voting Survey to test her hypothesis. She finds support for her hypothesis, suggesting that potential benefits would arise from allowing citizens to work in any precinct.

This book examines how elections are run in the United States, highlighting recent innovations in voter registration, voting options, and voter convenience, among other things. Hale and Brown's analyses is supported by original data gathered from state and local election officials and policymakers across the United States.

This research focuses on whether voters’ confidence is shaped by the racial or ethnic representation of poll workers and election staff.

In this paper, authors explore the role of polling place inaccessibility in contributing to the voting gap among people with disabilities. Authors found that, in the 2012 elections, the turnout gap was reduced but not eliminated and that 30% of voters with disabilities experienced difficulties voting. These findings support the claim that difficulties voting depress voter turnout.

This paper examines factors influencing voter evaluations of poll workers. The authors find that voters opinions toward poll workers are impacted by their experience with polling place wait times, feelings of privacy while voting, and poll worker training, among others.

This paper evaluates the role of state policy and election precinct evaluations on citizen confidence in individual and nationwide electoral outcomes. King finds that valuations of voting precincts, specifically poll workers, polling locations, and voting machines have an effect on electoral confidence. However, confidence is not consistent and varies based on racial identification and partisan affiliation.

This paper analyzes the contextual factors shaping citizens' decisions to volunteer as poll worker. Using the experiences of Mexican pollworkers, the authors highlight the role of sociopolitical contexts in affecting polling place operations, including the impacts of electoral competition and rising violence.

Hale and Brown examine the local networks of election officials throughout the U.S. and the information exchanged between them. They demonstrate the ways in which local networks are central to innovation, key to the spread of new ideas from one locality to another, and fundamental to improving this area of public service across the country.

This article highlights the complexity of designing and implementing poll worker training programs given the varying requirements of federal, state and local laws. Authors examine the unique practices of administrators in Williamson County, Texas, hearing first-hand and how they identify shortcomings of poll worker programs and implement improvements based on lessons learned.

This paper examines the relationship between individuals' public service motivation (PSM) and their work sector (public, nonprofit, or for-profit) preferences. Authors find that PSM is a moderate indicator of an individual's sector preference, notably, as PSM increases, the desire to work in the public sector also increases, relative to the for-profit sector. The findings of this paper bear potential implications for understanding the motivations of election officials and poll workers in serving the public.

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.

This paper examines scholarly literature since 2008 regarding the motivation of public officials to serve their community. The authors identify several lessons impacting management and leadership of the public workforce, including the role of cooperative work environments in facilitating public service motivation, and using public service motivation as a selection tool, among other things.