Resources

In this MS thesis, Houghton develops a methodology to estimate voter arrival rates at polling stations using electronic poll book transaction logs. It includes service time observations collected through time studies during the 2018 Rhode Island midterm election across seven precincts. The study applies a Hidden Markov Model to infer voter arrival patterns from the check-in records. Finds that e-pollbook logs offer a scalable, less labor-intensive alternative to manual observation for estimating arrival rates.

The Voting Location and Outreach Tool is a publicly available tool that allows users to visualize data on the number, location, and historical use of Election Day vote centers and polling places, and to project equitable distributions of locations for upcoming elections.

This report surveys the public's views on election administration and reform, examining what voters value most in the voting experience and which changes they believe would improve it.

In this paper, authors develop models to estimate voter service times from voting machine log data, providing election officials with a scalable approach to analyze and improve polling place operations.

In this book, authors analyze whether systematic outcomes arise from distinctive election policies in the American states. They establish a cost of voting index to evaluate which states have a higher cost of voting, how this cost impacts who votes, and whether there is a correlation between the cost of voting and minority populations.

This research focuses on whether voters’ confidence is shaped by the racial or ethnic representation of poll workers and election staff.

This report highlights key trends in voter turnout among voters with disabilities in the 2018 elections. Authors note an increase in turnout among these voters compared to the 2014 midterms. They found that employed voters with disabilities were just as likely to vote as employed voters without disabilities, suggesting a link between employment and political participation.

This report provides practical recommendations for reducing polling place wait times by improving line measurement and the management of polling place resources.

In The Turnout Gap, Fraga provides a comprehensive analysis of the causes and consequences of racial and ethnic disparities in voter turnout. Examining voting for Whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans from the 1800s to the present, Fraga documents persistent gaps in turnout and shows that elections are increasingly unrepresentative of the wishes of all Americans.

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

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 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.