Resources

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.

This report highlights key trends in voter turnout among voters with disabilities in the 2016 elections. Authors note continuing gaps in registration and turnout of voters with disabilities compared to that of voters without disabilities. Voters with disabilities were also more likely to vote by mail before election day, reflecting the mobility problems faced by some voters with disabilities.

This white paper reviews the types of personal assistive technology (AT) that voters might use in the polling place. It focuses on technologies that are either currently in common use, or in early stages of development and may be widely available in the future.

This study sought to examine whether voting equipment layouts impact anticipated voting system usability. Through tests with thirty-five participants, authors found that configurations of voting machines inside a polling station impacted all subjective ratings, suggesting that environmental variables might need to be considered when configuring polling stations to maximize usability.

This article highlights the complexity of designing and implementing poll worker training programs given the varying requirements of federal, state and local laws. Authors examine the unique practices of administrators in Williamson County, Texas, hearing first-hand and how they identify shortcomings of poll worker programs and implement improvements based on lessons learned.

Hale and Brown examine the local networks of election officials throughout the U.S. and the information exchanged between them. They demonstrate the ways in which local networks are central to innovation, key to the spread of new ideas from one locality to another, and fundamental to improving this area of public service across the country.

In this paper, authors examine the effectiveness of preregistration laws in increasing voter turnout. Authors find that preregistration does increases voter turnout, with equal effectiveness for various subgroups in the electorate.

Miller and Powell examine the extent to which people with disabilities vote in person or utilize convenience voting reforms relative to voters without disabilities. They find that voters with a disability are significantly less likely to vote but are more likely to vote by mail ballot. They also examine the efficacy of several additional reforms such as early voting in increasing turnout among voters with disabilities.

This report summarizes projections of how many people with disabilities would be eligible to vote in the November 2016 elections, using data from the Census Bureau’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey combined with Census Bureau population projections. The report breaks down key demographic characteristics of eligible voters with disabilities.