Resources

The SMILE series are instructional videos, based on over 8,000 simulations, that help election officials visualize cost-effective resource allocations for polling locations that keep wait times under 30 minutes. The series covers polling place consolidation, new equipment integration, and allocation of accessible voting technology.

In this report, Stewart documents persistent racial and ethnic gaps in the in-person voting experience, including longer wait times and lower confidence among Black, Latino, and Asian American voters compared with white voters.

In this paper, authors examine how polling place closures following the Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision affected voter wait times during Georgia's 2016 presidential election. Using queueing theory and empirical data, it quantifies the impact of consolidating polling locations on wait times, with particular attention to how closures affected different communities. Authors provide evidence linking post-Shelby polling place reductions to measurably longer lines.

In this paper, authors develop an algorithm that can reduce racial disparities in polling place access by suggesting improved placements for polling places from a list of identified public locations at the state level.

This Article calls attention to the development and derailment of a novel cross-governmental bureaucracy for voter registration.

This resources provides a step-by-step protocol for test voting system usability and accessibility functions in use, including how well the ballot presents voters with options and allows them to confirm their choices while marking and verify their ballot before casting. This resources is intended for state certification programs and election offices evaluating a new voting system.

This paper uses geographic discontinuities at block boundaries to identify the causal effect of polling place assignment on voter turnout, finding that distance to and familiarity with a polling location matter for participation.

This report provides a comprehensive review of the existing literature on in-person voting to determine best practices and identify areas where more research is needed, covering both operational features and the voter experience.

This paper examines an unintended consequence of automatic voter registration: effects on party registration. Examining the state of Oregon, a state with back-end AVR, the analysis documents a significant decreases in partisan voter registration rates.

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

The Voting Location Resource Calculator is an interactive simulation tool that helps election officials estimate voter wait times and identify potential bottlenecks in the voting process. Officials can enter data on existing voting locations, including steps required to vote, layout, and equipment, to simulate current conditions or test changes to resources and processes. Based on observational data from U.S. elections from 2018 to 2024.

In this paper, authors use simulation-optimization to identify voting equipment allocation requirements across different polling location consolidation strategies, providing guidance for jurisdictions considering consolidation.