Resources

Through interviews with 24 poll workers from the city of Chicago, Suttmann-Lea assesses how poll workers make decisions about voter eligibility under Illinois' signature matching law, finding that personal perspectives and experiences influence their evaluations. She also discusses how these poll workers stated they would proceed in the instance of a mismatch signature. These findings shed light on how poll worker interpretations of election law shape their application of the law.

In this MS thesis, Houghton develops a methodology to estimate voter arrival rates at polling stations using electronic poll book transaction logs. It includes service time observations collected through time studies during the 2018 Rhode Island midterm election across seven precincts. The study applies a Hidden Markov Model to infer voter arrival patterns from the check-in records. Finds that e-pollbook logs offer a scalable, less labor-intensive alternative to manual observation for estimating arrival rates.

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

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 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 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.

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 analyzes the quantity and quality of poll workers, highlighting that performance, rather than numbers alone, is a key factor in voter satisfaction and the efficient conduct of elections.

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 analyzes whether the preferences and actions of local election officials are impacted by their method of selection - election or appointment - with a focus on the experiences of LEOs in Wisconsin. Authors found notable differences in support of voter access and concerns about ballot security and administrative costs, among other things.