2023 Conference Program

Wednesday, May 31

7:00-9:00pm: Welcome Mixer. Pecan Tree Galleria, Georgia Center.

Thursday, June 1

8:00am: Breakfast. Pecan Tree Galleria, Georgia Center

8:00am: Registration. Masters Hall Foyer.

8:30am: Opening Remarks. Masters Hall.

8:45am: Panels 1 and 2 (concurrent)

• Panel 1: Healthy Election Information Ecosystem. Masters Hall.

“How Does the News Cover Elections?” (Kathleen Searles, Louisiana State University; Jessica Maki, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Christopher Mann, Skidmore University).

“Election Officials as Trusted Messengers: Assessing the Effects of Trust-Building Social Media Campaigns on Voters’ Trust in Election Officials during the 2022 Midterm Election” (Mara Suttmann-Lea, Connecticut College; Thessalia Merivaki, Mississippi State University, Rachel Orey, Bipartisan Policy Center) [Read paper]

“Voting Buddy: Helping to Foster Informed and Engaged Voters” (Dwight L. Williams, MIT). [Read paper]

“Does Mail Balloting Make Voting More Informed?” (Marc Meredith, University of Pennsylvania).

“Evaluating the Most Effective Approaches to Correcting Voter Fraud Misperceptions” (John M. Carey, Dartmouth College; Brian Fogarty, Notre Dame, Brendan Nyhan, Dartmouth, Jason Reifler, University of Exeter). [Read paper]

• Panel 2: Mail Voting. Room R.

“The Evolution of Absentee/Mail Voting Laws, 2020-2022” (Amanda Zoch, National Conference of State Legislatures; Wendy Underhill, National Conference of State Legislatures; Mitchell Brown, Auburn University; Kathleen Hale, Auburn University).

“Should I Vote In-Person or By Mail? Tracking Choices and Changes in Methods of Voting, 2012-2022” (Seo-young Silvia Kim, American University; Bernard Fraga, Emory University; Daron Shaw, UT-Austin).

“Analysis of Vote-by-Mail Processing: A Time Study from Salt Lake City” (Gretchen A. Macht, University of Rhode Island; Leonie S. Otte, University of Rhode Island; Gianna M. Wadowski, University of Rhode Island). [Read paper]

“Ballot Tracking Use in the U.S” (Mindy Romero, USC Center for Inclusive Democracy).

10:00am: Morning Refreshment Break. Pecan Tree Galleria.

10:15am: Panels 3 and 4 (concurrent)

• Panel 3: Voter Confidence. Masters Hall.

“Communicating Transparency and Confidence in the Election Guard 2022 Pilot”(Whitney Quesenbery, Center for Civic Design; R.C. Carter, Microsoft Democracy Forward). [View presentation] [Read report]

“Trust in the State Vote Count, 2020-2022” (Michael Sances, Temple University; Charles Stewart, III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jesse Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

“The Impact of Partisan Election Observation on Perceptions of Electoral Fairness” (Geoffrey Sheagley, University of Georgia; Mollie J. Cohen, University of Georgia).

“The Impact of Voter Confusion in Ranked Choice Voting” (Eli McKown-Dawson, Florida State University; Lonna Atkeson, Florida State University, Jack Santucci, Drexel University; Kyle L. Saunders, Colorado State University).

• Panel 4: Turnout. Room R.

“Understanding Election Day Turnout in Real Time” (Andrew Arenge, University of Pennsylvania; Marc Trussler, University of Pennsylvania).

“Identifying the Effect of Early Voting Availability on Turnout using the 2022Midterm and Runoff Elections in Georgia” (Michael Herron, Dartmouth College; David Cottrell, University of Georgia; Daniel Smith, University of Florida).

“COVID-19, Voter Turnout, and Voting Methods in the 2020 US General Election” (Paul Herrnson, University of Connecticut; Charles Stewart, III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [Read paper] [View presentation]

“A Tale of Two Counties: Vote Center Implementation and Turnout in Fresno and St. Louis Counties” (Lisa A. Bryant, California State University, Fresno; David C. Kimball, University of Missouri, St. Louis; Anita Manion, University of Missouri, St. Louis).

“Buffeted Not Bulldozed: Lessons Learned from the Pandemic Elections of 2020” (Martha Kropf, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Dari Tran, University of the Pacific).​​​​

11:35am: Lunch. Magnolia Room.

1:00pm: Panel 5 (Poster Session). Masters Hall Foyer.

“Homeless Voting Case Study at Wake County, North Carolina” (Elena Puzikova, University of Florida).

“Pollbook Identification: How Electronic Pollbooks Refine the Measurement of Strict Voter Identification Laws.” (Michael Morse, University of Chicago Law School; Marc Meredith, University of Pennsylvania). [View poster]

“Can Experience Mitigate Partisanship? The Effect of Voting by Mail on Voter Fraud Beliefs” (Jess Esplin, University of Wisconsin-Madison). [Read paper] [View poster]

“A New Measure of Voter Turnout” (Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [View poster]

“Differences-in-Different Counties: The Heterogeneous Effect of a Voter ID Law in Virginia” (Noah Braun, University of Pittsburgh). [View poster]

“Voter Confidence and Electoral Participation” (Thomas Cao, Stanford University).

“Equitable Distribution of Election Day and Early Vote Polling Locations in Georgia” (Susama Agarwala, Center for New Data; Daphne Skipper, United States Naval Academy).

“Can Voter ID Laws be Administered Fairly? Evidence of Uneven Voter ID Law Policy Implementation” (Michael Greenberger, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Jason Roberts, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill).

“Undoing Democracy: Recall Elections in Texas” (Brandon Rottinghaus, University of Houston; Kiran Ahmed Khan, University of Houston; Jose Antonio Gutierrez, University of Houston; Eos Sison, University of Houston).

“The Politics Behind Electoral Integrity: The Role of Internal Consultation Mechanisms within Electoral Management Bodies in Latin America and Africa” (Alejandro Trelles, Brandeis University).

“Election Commissions and Opposition Behavior in Africa’s Multiparty Regimes: Does Institutional Performance Matter for Election Boycotts and Losers’ Compliance?” (Nicholas Kerr, University of Florida).

2:15pm: Panels 6 and 7 (concurrent)

• Panel 6: Redistricting. Masters Hall.

“A New Individual-Level Model for Estimating the Effects of Redistricting” (Blake Reynolds, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ken Mayer, University of Wisconsin-Madison).

“RGIx: A New Measure of Gerrymandering, Analyzing US House Elections from 1872 to 2022” (Bernard Tamas, Valdosta State University). [Read paper] [View presentation]

“Administrative Decision Making: Precincting, Resource Allocation, and Outcomes for Voters” (Gretchen A Macht, University of Rhode Island; Bridgett A King, Auburn University).

“Changing Precinct Boundaries: Who Is Affected and Electoral Consequences” (Brian Amos, Wichita State University; Michael P. McDonald, University of Florida; Steven Gerontakis, University of Florida). [Read paper]

• Panel 7: Improving Administration. Room R. 

“A National Strategy for U.S. Elections” (Grace Gordon, Bipartisan Policy Center). [View presentation]

“Serving Democracy Or Competing with In-And-Out? Developing New Insights into Election Administration from the 2023 Oregon Staffing Study” (Paul Gronke, Reed College; Paul Manson, Reed College).

“Glad You Asked: Using Qualitative Research to Identify Obstacles for Voters and Election Workers During the Election Process” (Lindsay Nielson, Fors Marsh Consulting; Doug Chapin, Fors Marsh Consulting; Krysha Gregorowicz, Fors Marsh Consulting; Hibah Khan, Fors Marsh Consulting; Lindsay Nielson, Fors Marsh Consulting; David Varas Alonso, Fors Marsh Consulting).

“How Secret is the Ballot?” (Shiro Kuriwaki, Yale University; Michael Morse, University of Chicago Law School; Jeffrey Lewis, UCLA).

“Analyzing the Impact of Rurality on Election Administration” (Cameron Wimpy, Arkansas State University).

3:30pm: Afternoon Refreshment Break. Pecan Tree Galleria.

3:50pm: Panels 8 and 9 (concurrent)

• Panel 8: Student Panel. Masters Hall.

“When Policy is Not Enough: The Impact of Voting Rights Restoration on Neighborhood Turnout in Florida” (Stephanie Puello, University of Colorado-Denver).

“The Cost of Electoral Confidence” (Joseph Loffredo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Alejandro Flores, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
“Understanding Local Policy Implementation in the Context of Voter Participation in Florida” (Monica A. Bustinza, Florida International University). [Read paper] [View presentation]

“Coloring in the Lines: Racial Redistricting in U.S. City Councils” (Gustavo Novoa, Columbia University). [Read paper]

“Do Local Election Officials Represent Their Constituents?” (Joshua Ferrer, UCLA). [Read paper]

• Panel 9: State Reforms. Room R. 

“Administering Instant Runoff Voting Elections: What Could Go Wrong?” (Jack Williams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Samuel Baltz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

“The Information Landscape and Voters’ Understanding of RCV in Alaska” (Joseph Anthony, State University of New York-Cortland; Anita Manion, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Martha Kropf, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, David Kimball, University of Missouri-St. Louis). [Read paper]

“Does Automatic Voter Registration Boost Registration or Keep People Registered?”(Eric McGhee, Public Policy Institute of California; Mindy Romero, USC).

“Voter Registration Policy Potential for Increasing Electoral Equity” (Kelly Siegel-Stechler, Tufts University; Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Tufts University; Peter DeGuzman, Tufts University). [Read paper]

“The Curious Case of The Missing Data: Registration Roll-Off and Election Science”(Christopher A. Cooper, Western Carolina University; J. Michael Bitzer, Catawba College). [View presentation]

Panels on Thursday will wrap by 5:05pm.

Friday, June 2

8:00am: Breakfast. Pecan Tree Galleria, Georgia Center.

8:45am: Panels 10 and 11 (concurrent)

• Panel 10: Local Election Officials. Masters Hall. 

“Engaging with Rural Election Administrators in The Mississippi River Delta Region” (Cameron Wimpy, Arkansas State University; William McLean, William McLean).

“Working with Election Officials to Enhance Election Administration Communications” (Mitchell Brown, Auburn University; Kathleen Hale, Auburn University; Soren Jordan, Auburn University, Bridgett King, Auburn University, Ryan Williamson, Auburn University).

“Local-Level Implementation of SB 202 in Georgia” (M.V. Hood III, University of Georgia; Seth C. McKee, Oklahoma State University).

“Dismantling Democracy: The Impact of Election Violence on Women in U.S. Election Administration” (Amanda Clark, Florida International University; Monica Bustinza, Florida International University; Christina Barsky, University of Montana).

“Election Administration Spending in Local Election Jurisdictions: Examining the Factors that Influence Costs in 48 States” (Zach Mohr, University of Kansas; Martha Kropf, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; MaryJo McGowan, University of North Carolina-Charlotte).

• Panel 11: Election Data & Methods. Room R.

“Why Does Anyone Need Precinct-Level Election Results?” (Kate Murray, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Samuel Baltz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [View presentation]

“Election Night Reporting in the 2022 Election” (Stephen Pettigrew, University of Pennsylvania; John Lapinski, University of Pennsylvania; Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jack Williams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

“Experimental Evaluation of Best Practices for Building Trust in Elections” (Thad Kousser, UC-San Diego; Seth Hill, UC-San Diego; Mindy Romero, USC; Jennifer Gaudette, UC-San Diego; Mackenzie Lockhart, UC-San Diego). [Read paper]

“Did Private Election Funding Advantage Democrats in the 2020 Election?” (Daniel Thompson, UCLA).

“A New Benford Test for Clustered Data with Applications to American Elections.” (Kevin Dayaratna, The Heritage Foundation; Steven J. Miller, Williams College).

10:00am: Morning Refreshment Break. Pecan Tree Galleria.

10:30am: Panels 12 (Poster Session), 13, and 14 (concurrent)

• Panel 12: Poster Session II. Masters Hall Foyer.

“What Effect do Audits Have on Voter Confidence?” (Alejandro Flores, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jacob Jaffe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Joseph Loffredo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Samuel Baltz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [Read paper] [View poster]

“The Effects of Election Administration on Turnout in Florida Municipal Elections”(Maxwell Clarke, University of Florida). [View poster]

“Polling Places of Interest: How Where We Vote Shapes Voting Behavior” (Joseph Loffredo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [View poster]

“Moving Out: Household Transmission of Party Registration among Young Voters” (Danielle Dietz, University of Florida).

“Civic Roundtable: Retaining Election Officials in a Time of Uncertainty” (Jose Altamirano, Harvard Kennedy School; Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, Harvard Kennedy School; Austin Boral, Harvard Kennedy School; Madeleine Smith, Harvard Kennedy School).

“Assessing Independent Redistricting's Turnout Effects in Michigan” (Corwin D. Smidt, Michigan State University). [View poster]

“Evaluating a New Generation of Expansive Claims about Vote Manipulation” (Justin Grimmer, Stanford University; Michael Herron, Dartmouth; Matthew Tyler, Rice University).

“Election Observer Activity in North Carolina in the November 2022 Election” (Jackelyn Avila, University of Florida; Liz Kerner, University of Florida; Payton Lussier, University of Florida; Ciaran Cowan, University of Florida; Ava Wohner, University of Florida; Anamika Naidu, University of Florida).

“Relevance of Data Selection for Predictions on Elections” (Abraham Mateos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

“Zuckerbucks: An Analysis of Private Election Funds in the 2020 Election” (Veronica Judson, University of Wisconsin-Madison).

“Local Jurisdiction Website Coding: Does Rurality Matter?” (Cameron Wimpy, Arkansas State University; Ellie Foote, Arkansas State University; William P. McLean, Arkansas State University). [View poster]

• Panel 13: In-Person Voting. Masters Hall.

“¡Vote Aquí! The Experiences of Poll Workers Who Serve as Translators” (Matt Lamb, Texas Tech University).

“Opting Out? Recent Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Poll Workers”(Robert M. Stein, Rice University; Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin; Gayle Alberda, Fairfield University; Lonna Atkeson, Florida State University; Lisa Bryant, California State University-Fresno; Rachel Cobb, Suffolk University; Michael Gilbert, University of Virginia; Josh Hostetter, Citadel Military College of South Carolina; David Kimball, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Matthew Lamb, Texas Tech University; Kenneth R. Mayer, University of Wisconsin; Costas Panagopoulos, Northeastern University; Andrew Reeves, Washington University; Corwin Smidt, Michigan State University; Jennifer Victor, George Mason University). [Read paper]

“On the Run: An Analysis of Mobile Vote Center Utilization” (Gretchen A. Macht, University of Rhode Island; James Houghton, University of Rhode Island; Bridgett A. King, Auburn University).

“Should I Vote In-person or By Mail? Analyzing Choices and Changes in Voting Methods in U.S. Elections” (Seo-young Silvia Kim, American University; Bernard Fraga, Emory University; Daron Shaw, UT-Austin).

• Panel 14: Ballots, Voting Technology, and Audits. Room R.

“Who Likes Paper Now?” (Charles Stewart III, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [View presentation]

“Auditing the Audit: An Examination of the 100% Independent Retabulation of the 2022 Primary Election Audit in Leon County” (Lonna Atkeson, Florida State University; Lisa A. Bryant, California State Fresno; Wendy L. Hansen, University of New Mexico; Yimeng Li, Florida State University; Kenneth Mackie, Florida State University; Eli McKown-Dawson, Florida State University; Andre Joseph, Florida State University).

“Ballot Positions, Contest Differences, and Ballot Roll-Off: Evidence from California's Alternative Ballot Order” (Yimeng Li, Florida State University; R. Michael Alvarez, California Institute of Technology).

“A Comparative Study of Electronic and Paper Ballot Voting Systems in Modern Elections” (Gretchen A. Macht, University of Rhode Island; Gianna M. Wadowski, University of Rhode Island; Leonie S. Otte, University of Rhode Island; Nicholas D. Bernardo Jr., University of Rhode Island). [Read paper]

12:45pm: Lunch. Pecan Tree Galleria.

1:45pm: Closing Remarks. Masters Hall. 

The conference will wrap by 2:00pm on Friday.