Resources

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

141 Resources

Workforce Trainings

This training slide presentation and accompanying guide are intended to help election officials improve their training materials and practices for poll workers who assist voters with disabilities using accessible voting systems. The training ensures that poll workers know the legal rules for disability voting rights in the polling place and includes guidance for helping voters while preserving their independence and privacy.

Bridging Divides Initiative
Workforce Academic Papers

In 2023, the Bridging Divides Initiative began surveying local election officials to better understand the degree to which election officials face insults, harassment, threats, and physical attacks throughout their career. The survey is administered quarterly, providing frequent snapshots into how threats and violence toward election officials is evolving over time.

Workforce Issue Briefs

This resource provides tips and guidance for election officials to design clear, simple, easy to use, and easy to understand instructional materials for poll workers.

Steven RicherHarvard Kennedy School, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Voter Trust Issue Briefs

Former Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer outlines a potential solution to improving voter trust by offering election facility tours.

Ready for Tuesday
Voter Trust Tools

VoterCast is a tool for election officials aimed at streamlining the voter outreach process using research-backed content.

Workforce Trainings

This course series connects election officials to frameworks, strategies, resources, and best practices related to designing and administering poll worker programs. This series is free and consists of four courses focused specifically on recruiting, training, managing and retaining poll workers.

National Federation of the Blind
Usability & Accessibility Workforce Tools

This resource provides an overview of the federal laws that facilitate voting by people with disabilities. It contains links to resources and tools for election officials and organizations to understand the experiences of voters who are blind or low vision and to learn how to better serve them. This includes materials that educate and encourage blind voters to become poll workers.

Robert K. Christensen, Laurie Paarlberg, James L. Perry
Workforce Academic Papers

This paper examines scholarly literature since 2008 regarding the motivation of public officials to serve their community. The authors identify several lessons impacting management and leadership of the public workforce, including the role of cooperative work environments in facilitating public service motivation, and using public service motivation as a selection tool, among other things.

Barry C. Burden, Jeffrey Milyo
Workforce Academic Papers

This paper analyzes whether the preferences and actions of local election officials are impacted by their method of selection - election or appointment - with a focus on the experiences of LEOs in Wisconsin. Authors found notable differences in support of voter access and concerns about ballot security and administrative costs, among other things.