Resources

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

130 Resources

Jennifer MorrellDemocracy Fund2021
Audits & Validating Elections Reports

This report discusses ballot-accounting audits as a complementary check to tabulation audits, emphasizing reconciliation and chain of custody.

Erica Shein, Alexandra BrownInternational Foundation for Electoral Systems2021
Audits & Validating Elections Reports

The guide provides a basic framework for testing risk limiting audits in diverse contexts by outlining foundational prerequisites and operational, legal and regulatory considerations

Lynn Baumeister, Whitney QuesenberyCenter for Civic Design2021
Usability & Accessibility Reports

Research shows that printed ballots pose challenges for blind voters and low-vision voters, who cannot read them directly.
This is a report of a project examining the legibility of summary ballots printed by ballot marking devices. The goal of the investigation was to to identify aspects of design, layout, or typography that can make a summary-style ballot easier to read and to increase the likelihood that voters detect a mistake or change on their ballot.

Danielle Root, Mia Ives-RubleeCenter for American Progress2021
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report examines election-related hurdles that hinder or prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in U.S. elections, including during the 2020 election cycle. It offers recommendations that policymakers can adopt to improve election accessibility for voters with disabilities.

John Curiel, Charles Stewart III, Jack WilliamsMIT Election Data + Science Lab2021
Voter Trust Reports

This MIT Election Data + Science Lab analysis explains the 2020 “blue shift,” where later-counted ballots disproportionately favored Democrats, and why that pattern mattered for public interpretation of results.

Voter Trust Reports

This survey 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 helps explain why the 2020 election became a turning point in public debates over fraud, mail voting, certification, and legitimacy.

Democracy Fund2021
Voter Trust Reports

This evaluation report examines philanthropy & trust-building in relation to the entry’s stated focus on election security; confidence; field-building. It is relevant to the dataset because it connects election rules, information environments, or administrative performance to public confidence and perceived legitimacy.

United States Postal Service2021
Voting by Mail Reports

This United States Postal Service (USPS) report outlines the scope of election mail handled by USPS and identifies key service challenges including poorly designed ballot envelopes, tight state deadlines that don't align with postal delivery windows, and inconsistent postmarking requirements. The report identifies the "extraordinary measures" taken by USPS during election periods to effectively process and deliver election mail.

John Fortier and Charles Stewart IIIMIT Election Data and Science Lab/ American Enterprise Institute2021
In-Person Voting Reports

This report reviews multiple topics related to conducting the 2020 general election, including meeting the challenge of voting in person during the COVIS-19 pandemic.

Workforce Reports

The 2021 Local Election Official Survey explored the views and opinions of 233 local election officials. The survey finds that most election officials are motivated by desires to serve their local community, are concerned about harassment while on the job, and believe that social media is increasing political division.

Jennifer MorrellDemocracy Fund2020
Audits & Validating Elections Reports

In this report, Morrell guides jurisdictions through planning and conducting risk limiting audits pilots, including stakeholder preparation, logistics, and post-pilot evaluation.