Resources

This study sought to examine whether voting equipment layouts impact anticipated voting system usability. Through tests with thirty-five participants, authors found that configurations of voting machines inside a polling station impacted all subjective ratings, suggesting that environmental variables might need to be considered when configuring polling stations to maximize usability.

In this paper, authors examine the effectiveness of preregistration laws in increasing voter turnout. Authors find that preregistration does increases voter turnout, with equal effectiveness for various subgroups in the electorate.

Miller and Powell examine the extent to which people with disabilities vote in person or utilize convenience voting reforms relative to voters without disabilities. They find that voters with a disability are significantly less likely to vote but are more likely to vote by mail ballot. They also examine the efficacy of several additional reforms such as early voting in increasing turnout among voters with disabilities.

This report summarizes projections of how many people with disabilities would be eligible to vote in the November 2016 elections, using data from the Census Bureau’s 2010-2014 American Community Survey combined with Census Bureau population projections. The report breaks down key demographic characteristics of eligible voters with disabilities.

This paper describes a two-pronged effort to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of the vote by mail process for voters who are blind, have low vision, or low dexterity and voters who read at Basic or Below Basic levels. These efforts focus on the accessibility and usability of Maryland's online ballot marking tool and revising paper instructions and envelopes in vote-by-mail packages.

This report highlights key trends in voter turnout among voters with disabilities in the 2016 elections. Authors note continuing gaps in registration and turnout of voters with disabilities compared to that of voters without disabilities. Voters with disabilities were also more likely to vote by mail before election day, reflecting the mobility problems faced by some voters with disabilities.

This white paper reviews the types of personal assistive technology (AT) that voters might use in the polling place. It focuses on technologies that are either currently in common use, or in early stages of development and may be widely available in the future.

This guide walks election officials through how to make election technologies such as online voter registration, polling place apps, and electronic poll books accessible to people with disabilities. It introduces the POUR principles as a framework for evaluating accessibility, recommends a layered testing approach for election systems, and points to free accessibility tools.

This paper explores the use of absentee and early voting in U.S. elections. Authors state that absentee voting is often marginally more convenient and might be less expensive to administer, but it also carries unique costs in terms of ballot insecurity, higher odds of error and fraud, and a concomitant reduction in public confidence. They assert that states intent on making the act of voting easier should prefer in-person early voting to absentee voting, while continuing to focus on improving the experience of Election Day voting.

In this paper, authors review the evidence on voter turnout and voting difficulties among people with disabilities finding that nearly one-third of these voters who voted in a polling place in 2012 experienced difficulties in doing so. They summarize best practices for removing voting obstacles and underscore the need for such practices given the expected growth of the disability population.

In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly established a working group to provide instructions, procedures, services, a security assessment, and security measures for the secure return by electronic means of voted absentee military- overseas ballots from uniformed-service voters outside of the United States. This report details the finding and work of the working group's first convening in 2015.

This paper discusses the challenges faced by voters with disabilities when attempting to vote, both in-person at polling locations and at home via mail ballot. They underscore the importance of addressing these barriers given the growing disability population and prevalence of long-term barriers to ballot access.