Resources

This paper introduces Bayesian/low-variance risk limiting audit approaches using marginal mark recording to reduce variability and sample requirements.

This report supports automated independent audits as a complement or alternative to other post-election audit methods. It may be useful for administrators or policymakers in comparing auditing approaches.

This paper demonstrates that layout method and path directionality significantly affect average voter travel distance within a polling place and presents ways layout can be used to design more efficient in-person voting systems.

The biennial comprehensive survey of election administration across all 50 states, five territories, and D.C., covering the 2022 midterm general election—widely seen as a return to normal operations after the COVID-19-disrupted 2020 election. Key in-person voting findings include: 645,219 poll workers assisted with early and Election Day voting, including more than 80,000 first-time poll workers (16.7% of the total); election officials reported that poll worker recruitment was meaningfully easier than in the 2018 midterms; e-pollbook adoption grew significantly, with 2,271 local jurisdictions in 40 states using them (up 60% from 2008); nearly all states (94.6%) reported conducting logic and accuracy testing of voting machines before tabulation; and the 2022 EAVS collected data on drop boxes and ballot curing for the first time, finding nearly 13,000 drop boxes in use nationally. The survey also covers voter registration, UOCAVA voting, absentee voting, provisional balloting, and voting technology across all reporting jurisdictions.

This paper present a case study examining the implementation of Election Day vote centers, finding that successful adoption requires coordination across multiple elements of the election ecosystem.

In this paper, authors use Orange County, California data to demonstrate efficient audit strategies for many contests and shows how contest selection by discrepancy can reduce workload.

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 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.