Resources

Over the last two decades, states have implemented several innovative policies that streamline the process of voter registration, promote voter list accuracy, and create more options for eligible citizens to register or update their voter registration. Such policy innovations include online voter registration, same-day voter registration, and automatic voter registration. The number of states that have implemented at least one of these three voter registration methods increased from seven states in 2000 to 46 states in 2024.

This issue brief provides an overview of absentee and mail voting in the U.S.. Authors provide a brief history of mail voting, and note an increase in mail voting since the COVID-19 pandemic. It spotlights Oregon's early adoption of vote-by-mail (VBM) and explores current discourse regarding whether VBM increases voter turnout, and concerns over electoral integrity.

Using an original dataset spanning all 50 states, authors also analyze the experience levels of current and incoming election officials and variations in turnover by several jurisdiction and office characteristics. The report also provides recommendations for policymakers to help mitigate turnover and promote workforce resiliency.

The 2024 Local Election Official (LEO) Survey provides insight into the challenges and successes facing election administrators, including job satisfaction, experience with threats and harassment, and hiring and funding challenges. It also highlights LEOs’ perspectives on the performance of U.S. elections and their role in voter education and engagement.

This report aims to support election officials in strengthening poll worker programs and recruitment. It outlines state legal frameworks for serving as a poll worker, including voter status and residency, age requirements, and compensation. It also highlights state, local, and political party strategies for improving poll worker recruitment, such as community partnerships, targeted outreach, and improved training programs.

This report uses data from the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) Threats and harassment Database (THD) to identify and discuss trends in threats and harassment against election officials between 2022 and 2024. BDI found that election officials faced an elevated risk of threats around election time during the period studied. BDI publishes updated analyses of the THD every month.

This one-pager provides a brief overview of a study conducted on how tours of the Maricopa County, AZ election facility increased trust among tour participants.

One-pager examining the benefits and shortcomings using videos to increase trust among voters.

One-pager explaining the results of a study where voters were informed election results would be available after a multi-day process, and examining solutions from that study to improve voter trust in vote counting measures.

This report examines barriers impacting voting access among groups such as people with disabilities, young voters, Native Americans, and rural residents. It puts forth several reforms such as expanded vote by mail policies and implementation of plain language in voter materials to address these barriers. Authors also highlight current research gaps and areas where further research is necessary.

Accessible vote-by-mail is critical in enabling voters with disabilities to cast their ballot privately and independently. This report reviews current elections offices' practices in administering accessible vote by mail and considers their innovations and current challenges.

State vote by mail policies have been expanded to facilitate voting by people with disabilities, but rely on voter signatures to verify an individual's identity. This report examines how signatures and signature comparison are used in elections, explores the uses and types of signatures in other contexts, and discusses alternatives being developed that could be used in elections.