Resources

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

130 Resources

Sarah Blahovec, Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. LaskowskiNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report is intended to assist election officials in developing poll worker training to support voters with disabilities at the polling place. This work is in response to the inconsistency of available training materials for poll workers on how to set up accessible voting systems and support voters in using them.

Douglas R. HessInstitute for Responsive Government2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

Authors find that improving the effectiveness of voter registration through Medicaid transactions and oth-
er agencies covered by the National Voter Regis-
tration Act of 1993 could have an impact
on the number of people with disabilities who are
registered to vote or have their registration auto-
matically updated, and therefore are ready to vote.

Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. LaskowskiNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This document provides guidance and resources for how to test voting systems against the usability and accessibility requirements in the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0. The primary audiences for this guide are the voting system test laboratory organizations who perform certification testing.

Whitney Quesenbery, Lynn Baumeister, Shanée DawkinsNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report explores the usability and accessibility of e-pollbooks and their use by poll workers and voters. It reports on the use of e-pollbooks in the U.S.; their software, hardware, and interface design, usability, and evaluation. Also presented are the processes in which e-pollbooks are used and state laws encouraging or prohibiting their use.

Whitney Quesenbery, Lynn Baumeister, Dana ChisnellNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report is the second part of a series of documents on the usability of electronic pollbooks. It outlines a procedure for how e-pollbooks might be evaluated, including a preliminary protocol for running a usability test. It can be used by people designing or purchasing an e-pollbook, as a usability component for a certification or approval process, or to determine aspects of the product that need special attention in training poll workers.

Whitney Quesenbery, Lynn Baumeister, Dana ChisnellNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This document is the third part of a series of documents on the usability of electronic pollbooks and is supplementary to Part Two in the series, Usability Testing for E-pollbooks: A
Test Protocol.

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.

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.

Center for Election Innovation and Research2023
Voter Registration Reports

CEIR has surveyed states about voter registration database security every two years since 2018. These surveys have demonstrated widespread best practices in respondent states.

In-Person Voting Reports

The biennial comprehensive survey of election administration across all 50 states, five territories, and D.C., covering the 2022 midterm general election—widely seen as a return to normal operations after the COVID-19-disrupted 2020 election. Key in-person voting findings include: 645,219 poll workers assisted with early and Election Day voting, including more than 80,000 first-time poll workers (16.7% of the total); election officials reported that poll worker recruitment was meaningfully easier than in the 2018 midterms; e-pollbook adoption grew significantly, with 2,271 local jurisdictions in 40 states using them (up 60% from 2008); nearly all states (94.6%) reported conducting logic and accuracy testing of voting machines before tabulation; and the 2022 EAVS collected data on drop boxes and ballot curing for the first time, finding nearly 13,000 drop boxes in use nationally. The survey also covers voter registration, UOCAVA voting, absentee voting, provisional balloting, and voting technology across all reporting jurisdictions.

Charles Stewart IIIMIT Election Data + Science Lab2023
In-Person Voting Reports

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.