Resources

In this paper, authors identify strong negative associations between strict voter ID laws and turnout rates among racial and ethnic minority voters.

This research finds that get-out-the-vote efforts to target voters using absentee ballot request forms are effective at shifting more voters to vote absentee. However, while pushing absentee vote-by-mail balloting may bank votes for a campaign before Election Day, the overall effect of partisan campaigns’ use of absentee ballot efforts to increase turnout appears limited.

This paper finds that Black and Latino voters generally wait longer in line to vote than white voters. These instances occur with longer wait times, usually observed in neighborhoods with higher minority populations compared to predominantly white neighborhoods.

This PhD dissertation examines U.S. election administration through three empirical studies. Three core contributions: (1) documentation of racial disparities in voter wait times across polling places, showing that Black and Latino voters wait significantly longer than white voters due to differential resource allocation; (2) analysis of how the partisan and demographic composition of jurisdictions predicts administrative resource levels; and (3) estimation of the downstream turnout consequences of long waits, showing that each additional hour of waiting reduces the probability of future voting. Chapters were subsequently published in Political Science Quarterly and Electoral Studies. Advisor: Gary King.

This paper finds that voters with disabilities face significant barriers to in-person voting, including inaccessible polling places and equipment, which contribute to lower turnout rates among this group.

This three-part report explores the usability of electronic poll books for poll workers and voters. It includes (1) a landscape analysis of e-pollbook usability within polling locations, (2) a usability test plan that election officials and vendors can implement, and (3) a checklist of usability and accessibility features for procurement and assessment.

This paper surveys local election officials to examine their knowledge of Election Day lines and the steps they take to address them, finding that data collection and resource flexibility are key to reducing wait times.

This paper reviews how voting systems that are not designed to support human perceptual and cognitive limitations pose a serious threat to accurate ballot recording, and have almost certainly altered election outcomes in the United States.

This report provides federal guidance on accessibility standards for polling places under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the primary federal framework for polling place design.

This paper finds that Hispanic voters were more likely to abstain from voting after being reassigned to a different Election Day polling place than voters in other racial groups.

This paper examines how precinct-level resources such as staffing, equipment, and voter arrival patterns influence voter wait times, revealing that resource allocation decisions are a key factor in long lines.

This paper finds that the placement and configuration of voting booths, including the spacing between machines and the use of dividers, significantly increase levels of anticipated voting system usability and voter confidence.