Resources

Use our resource library to explore the latest research in the field of election science.

30 Resources

Charles Stewart IIIMIT Election Data + Science Lab2025
Voting by Mail Reports

This report details how American voters experienced the 2024 general election. It is based on a survey of 10,200 registered voters, including 200 from each state plus D.C. Key findings from mail voting include: mail voting decreased to 29% from 43% in 2020; 37% of Democrats used mail voting compared to 24% for Republicans; few voters reported issue with requesting or completing a mail ballot; 3% of voters who returned their ballot via mail encountered disruptions.

States United2025
Voter Trust Reports

The report finds people who expressed higher levels of confidence that their vote would be counted as intended were more likely to vote. This pattern was consistent across partisan groups and most prominent among independents; If Americans felt more confident about the security of the 2024 election, turnout could have increased by 3.0-3.7 percentage points; If all Americans felt the highest levels of confidence going into November 2024, as many as 4.7-5.7 million more voters may have cast a ballot.

Voter Trust Workforce Reports

This Brennan Center survey reports on local election officials’ experiences with security, threats, funding, staffing, and preparation for the 2024 election environment. It is relevant because trusted, timely, and nonpartisan communication is one of the main tools election officials and civic groups use to counter distrust. For this dataset, it helps capture the most recent post-2020 trust environment and the continuing effects of election denial, security concerns, and polarization.

Marek N. Posard, Todd C. Helmus, Michelle Woods, Bilva ChandraRAND Corporation2024
Voter Trust Reports

This RAND resource addresses technology, misinformation, political violence, or public communication risks that could affect trust in the 2024 election environment. It is relevant because confidence depends not only on actual system security but also on whether voters understand the safeguards protecting registration, voting, and counting. For this dataset, it helps capture the most recent post-2020 trust environment and the continuing effects of election denial, security concerns, and polarization.

Charles Stewart IIIMIT Election Data + Science Lab2024
Voter Trust Reports

This post-election survey reports on how Americans cast ballots in 2024 and how confident they were that votes were counted accurately.

Olivier Bergeron-Boutin, Katherine Clayton, Thad Kousser, Brendan Nyhan, Lauren PratherMIT Election Data + Science Lab2023
Voter Trust Reports

This white paper reviews literature related to trust in elections.

MIT Election Data + Science Lab2023
Voter Trust Reports

This bibliography curates research on voter trust, voter confidence, election legitimacy, misinformation, and election administration.

Jennifer Gaudette, Seth Hill, Thad Kousser, Mackenzie Lockhart, Mindy RomeroCenter for Inclusive Democracy2023
Voter Trust Reports

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

John Carey, Brian Fogarty, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler2023
Voter Trust Reports

This working paper evaluates communication strategies—such as voter education, official messaging, corrections, or prebunking—that aim to increase confidence in elections.

Sutherland Institute2022
Voting by Mail Reports

This report seeks to inform discourse surrounding the implementation and impacts of vote by mail (VBM) policies by evaluating modern use-cases. Authors examine the history of VBM policies, the landscape of current research on VBM and analyze the use of VBM in Utah as a caste study. Report findings indicate that, when implemented well, VBM is a secure and successful means of casting a ballot

Campaign Legal Center2022
Voter Trust Reports

This survey / research report focuses on election misinformation, fraud narratives, or public misperceptions and their effects on confidence in U.S. elections. It is relevant because beliefs about fraud and exposure to misleading claims are central mechanisms through which confidence in election outcomes rises or falls. For this dataset, it adds evidence on one of the recurring drivers of election trust: experience, information, partisanship, security, or institutional performance.

Office of the Washington State Auditor2022
Voting by Mail Reports

This report, issued by the Office of the State Auditor, summarizes a statistical analysis of ballots submitted in the Washington 2020 general elections, with an emphasis on understanding common reasons and predictors of ballot rejection. Its findings point to the county where a ballot was cast as being the most significant variable related to ballot rejection. The report concludes with recommendations for the state aimed at reducing ballot rejections.