Resources

In this paper, authors explore the demographic and professional profiles of local election officials (LEOs), finding that most are female, white, over 55, and earning just over $50,000 a year. They also found that women were more likely to be paid less than their male counterparts. The paper presents additional findings related to job satisfaction and the role of election administration in facilitating female leadership.

In this paper, authors estimate the effects of American Indians' group consciousness on their political interests, voting rates, and support for co-ethnic candidates. They find that American Indians who have higher levels of group consciousness are more likely to support co-ethnic candidates, but little effect on their political participation and interest.

This paper, focusing on Colorado and Washington, finds that the implementation of vote by mail causes a significant decrease in voter confidence in both states. However, this decrease appears to be temporary, disappearing after only single election cycle.

This study assesses the impact of time and registration source on the rates of rejected voter registration applications by analyzing monthly county-level voter registration reports during the 2012 election cycle in Florida. It finds that there is a dynamic relationship between administrative and seasonal factors at the county level, which condition the rates of rejected voter registrations as the registration deadline approaches.

The results of this study demonstrate that state online voter registration increases voter turnout. The difference-in-difference analysis shows that the states’ implementation of online voter registration increases the turnout of young voters by about 3 percentage points in presidential election years.

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.

In this MS thesis, Bernardo investigates how ballot-length metrics (words, questions, selections, pages, sheets, bilingual status) affect voting errors during the 2018 Rhode Island midterm election. He uses logistic regression models that control for municipal- and precinct-level demographics to analyze machine-based, human-machine interaction, and ballot-marking errors. Bernardo finds that longer ballots and urban precincts significantly increase the odds of voting errors, with implications for ballot design and jurisdiction-level oversight.

This paper finds that large numbers of voters do not perceive their ballots as secret and harbor doubts about the institution's ability to keep them private, with perceptions varying by voting method and polling place design.

This paper analyzes how vote centers influence voter turnout in various election types in Texas, showing that their effect depends on the election context and voter demographics.

In this paper, authors provide a concise policy-oriented introduction to evidence-based elections and risk limiting audits, including legislative principles and implementation considerations.

This paper sets out principles for reliable post-election tabulation audits, including voter-verifiable paper records, transparency, ballot protection, and statistical rigor.

This paper, recommends voter-verifiable paper ballots and routine audits of paper ballots to verify tabulation and detect compromised systems.