Resources

This report draws on ethnographic interviews with naturalized U.S. citizens to explore why so eligible immigrant voters don't participate in elections. Researchers found that voting barriers go beyond language, including distrust of government, the overwhelming logistics of adjusting to life in the U.S., and gaps in civic literacy. The report offers practical recommendations for election officials to remove barriers to new citizens participating in civic life.

In this paper, authors estimate the effects of American Indians' group consciousness on their political interests, voting rates, and support for co-ethnic candidates. They find that American Indians who have higher levels of group consciousness are more likely to support co-ethnic candidates, but little effect on their political participation and interest.

In 2015, the Center for Civic Design outlined six priority areas for improving the usability and accessibility of election systems. This report details progress toward incorporating these priorities into the VVSG 2.0. It also details related efforts by election community stakeholders to implement these priorities.

The inaugural 2018 Local Election Official Survey solicited opinions about election administration, access, integrity, and reform. In this survey, election officials highlight concerns regarding resources, staffing, and coordination between state and local officials.

In this book, authors analyze whether systematic outcomes arise from distinctive election policies in the American states. They establish a cost of voting index to evaluate which states have a higher cost of voting, how this cost impacts who votes, and whether there is a correlation between the cost of voting and minority populations.

This research focuses on whether voters’ confidence is shaped by the racial or ethnic representation of poll workers and election staff.

This report highlights key trends in voter turnout among voters with disabilities in the 2018 elections. Authors note an increase in turnout among these voters compared to the 2014 midterms. They found that employed voters with disabilities were just as likely to vote as employed voters without disabilities, suggesting a link between employment and political participation.

In The Turnout Gap, Fraga provides a comprehensive analysis of the causes and consequences of racial and ethnic disparities in voter turnout. Examining voting for Whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans from the 1800s to the present, Fraga documents persistent gaps in turnout and shows that elections are increasingly unrepresentative of the wishes of all Americans.

In this paper, authors find that relocating or eliminating election day polling places affects some voters more than others. Specifically, younger voters and Hispanic voters have lower turnout when reassigned polling places compared to those that were not. These findings bear important implications for voting accessibility among these groups.

This paper analyzes the contextual factors shaping citizens' decisions to volunteer as poll worker. Using the experiences of Mexican pollworkers, the authors highlight the role of sociopolitical contexts in affecting polling place operations, including the impacts of electoral competition and rising violence.

This paper evaluates the role of state policy and election precinct evaluations on citizen confidence in individual and nationwide electoral outcomes. King finds that valuations of voting precincts, specifically poll workers, polling locations, and voting machines have an effect on electoral confidence. However, confidence is not consistent and varies based on racial identification and partisan affiliation.

This paper examines factors influencing voter evaluations of poll workers. The authors find that voters opinions toward poll workers are impacted by their experience with polling place wait times, feelings of privacy while voting, and poll worker training, among others.