Resources

This report details how American voters experienced the 2022 midterm election, based on a survey of 10,200 registered voters (including 200 from each state and D.C.), administered by YouGov. Key findings on in-person voting show mail ballot usage declined to 32%, down from 43% in 2020, while Election Day in-person voting increased to 50%. Most voters had short wait times, but racial disparities persisted. Disruptions at polling places were rare but measurable. Voter confidence varied significantly by party, with Republicans showing much lower confidence than Democrats. This is the only SPAE report on a midterm election cycle since 2014, enabling direct comparisons between presidential and midterm voting experiences.

This report provides a comprehensive review of the existing literature on in-person voting to determine best practices and identify areas where more research is needed, covering both operational features and the voter experience.

In this report, Stewart documents persistent racial and ethnic gaps in the in-person voting experience, including longer wait times and lower confidence among Black, Latino, and Asian American voters compared with white voters.

The 2023 Local Election Official Survey provides insight into the challenges and successes facing election administrators, including the impacts of misinformation on job satisfaction, high turnover and rising workloads. It also analyzes demographic characteristics of election officials and the voter education methods they use.

The 2023 Local Election Official Survey explored the views and opinions of 852 local election officials, finding that a high number of officials were administering their first-election in 2020. Election officials also expressed facing threats and harassment, growing concerns of political interference in elections, and the need for more resources to meet administration and security needs.

The 2023 State-by-State Compendium cites statutory requirements for serving as a poll worker in each state, including voter registration qualifications, age, residency, political affiliation, term requirements, compensation, and training, among others.

This report summarizes existing academic literature related to election official and poll worker recruitment, training, and retention. Authors discuss the demographic characteristics of the elections workforce, methods of selection, training programs and barriers to retaining elections workers.

Report summarizing ways election officials can use public information campaigns to restore voter trust in election administration.

Explains risk limiting audits (RLA) for observers, including steps, what observers should monitor, and how RLAs compare with other post-election checks.

This report describes the Carter Center's observation of the 2022 risk limiting audit conducted in Georgia.

This report outlines Virginia's 2022 risk limiting audit process, results, observations, and recommendations for future audits.

This report provides practical guidance for conducting tabulation audits, with discussion of audit methods and links to risk limiting audit resources.