Resources

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.

In this paper, authors explain what risk limiting audits do and do not verify, emphasizing paper-ballot examination and the distinction between outcome verification and other election processes.

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 paper explores voting-rule design choices that can reduce audit burden and improve auditability, with implications for post-election verification.

In this paper, authors use administrative data on incidents at polling places to show that in-person voting problems occur at low overall rates but tend to recur at the same polling places across multiple elections, suggesting that targeted intervention can be effective.

In this paper, authors introduces ClipAudit, a simplified risk-limiting post-election audit method intended to make statistical audits more understandable and implementable.

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

This reports details Maryland's pilot use of ballot-level images to audit tabulated results after adopting a new statewide voting system.

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.

This paper finds that longer ballots cause voters to become more frantic, adopt various search strategies, and spend less time researching each candidate, which raises the chances of errors and missing races.

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.