Resources

Use our resource library to explore the latest research in the field of election science.

116 Resources

Lisa Schur, Douglas KruseRutgers University2024
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report summarizes projections of how many people with disabilities would be eligible to vote in the November 2024 elections, using data from the Census Bureau’s 2018-2022 American Community Survey combined with Census Bureau population projections for 2024. The report breaks down key demographic characteristics of eligible voters with disabilities.

Suzanne Chapman, Lynn Baumeister, Whitney QuesenberyNational Institute of Standards2024
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report describes qualitative research conducted to gain deeper insights about how voters mark, review, verify, and cast their ballots. It is part of the work to update the human factors—accessibility, usability, and voter privacy—requirements in federal voting system standards and fill gaps in our understanding of how voters interact with ballot marking devices.

Audits & Validating Elections Reports

This report from Verified Voting compares audit and recount laws in seven 2024 swing states, clarifying differences between audits and recounts for public understanding.

Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report and the guidelines contained therein explain how a successful accessible RCV ballot works for voters with disabilities. The goal of this work was to create a universal design for a Ranked Choice Voting ballot that would work for the most voters without special settings needed.

Whitney Quesenbery, Lynn Baumeister, Dana ChisnellNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report is the second part of a series of documents on the usability of electronic pollbooks. It outlines a procedure for how e-pollbooks might be evaluated, including a preliminary protocol for running a usability test. It can be used by people designing or purchasing an e-pollbook, as a usability component for a certification or approval process, or to determine aspects of the product that need special attention in training poll workers.

Sarah Blahovec, Whitney Quesenbery, Sharon J. LaskowskiNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report is intended to assist election officials in developing poll worker training to support voters with disabilities at the polling place. This work is in response to the inconsistency of available training materials for poll workers on how to set up accessible voting systems and support voters in using them.

Douglas R. HessInstitute for Responsive Government2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

Authors find that improving the effectiveness of voter registration through Medicaid transactions and oth-
er agencies covered by the National Voter Regis-
tration Act of 1993 could have an impact
on the number of people with disabilities who are
registered to vote or have their registration auto-
matically updated, and therefore are ready to vote.

Whitney Quesenbery, Lynn Baumeister, Shanée DawkinsNational Institute of Standards2023
Usability & Accessibility Reports

This report explores the usability and accessibility of e-pollbooks and their use by poll workers and voters. It reports on the use of e-pollbooks in the U.S.; their software, hardware, and interface design, usability, and evaluation. Also presented are the processes in which e-pollbooks are used and state laws encouraging or prohibiting their use.

Usability & Accessibility In-Person Voting Tools

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.

Jacob Jaffe, Joseph Loffredo, Samuel Baltz, Alejandro Flores, Charles Stewart IIIMIT Election Data + Science Lab2023
Voter Trust Audits & Validating Elections Academic Papers

Academic paper examining the use of audits following elections to improve voter confidence.

Melissa Rogers, Jean Schroedel, Joseph DietrichClaremont Graduate University2023
Usability & Accessibility Academic Papers

In this paper, authors analyze access to vote by mail and other voting methods among Native voters. Authors begin by examining the historical, structural inequities in access to mail services on reservations and utilize data on precinct locations, post office locations, drop box locations, and Election Day voting sites to show how limited access to these sites and services adversely impacts Native voters when compared to both rural and urban Arizona voters.