2024 Call for Proposals

The purpose of the conference is to engage both practitioners and scholars on pressing topics related to U.S. elections by providing a forum for collaboration and exchange that can stimulate policy evaluation and innovation.

Unlike traditional academic conferences, ESRA seeks to facilitate a shared space between academics, policy makers, advocates, and election professionals to encourage the practical applications of scholarly research. We invite proposals from scholars, election administrators, and others in the election science, research, and administration space. Proposals from Ph.D. students are also encouraged, and we encourage faculty advisors to encourage their students to apply. 

Proposal Types

Proposals can be for: 

1. 1. Individual research papers and individual presentations on election science and administration.
2. 2. Roundtables or breakout sessions on best election administration practices. These sessions will be discussions on topics and will feature multiple participants, who ideally will include both researchers and election administrators/practitioners. Examples of  previous discussions include: philanthropy and nonpartisan election administration; increasing voting access; and emergency management and election security; and operations. 
3. 3. Other full panel proposals or individual proposals that fit with the theme of election science, research, and administration. 

Please note that the popularity of ESRA means we will not be able to accommodate all proposals. For full panel proposals or roundtables, we are particularly interested in those that combine academic researchers with election administrators. 

Topics

Given that 2024 is an election year, topical proposals that can inform the election administration of the November 2024 election and subsequent elections are welcome. Topics for proposals include but are not limited to:

• best practices in election administration;
• policy evaluation;
• technology;
• election law and compliance;
• threats, retention, and recruitment of poll workers and election administrators;
• increasing changes to legislative oversight of election officials;
• voter access;
• vote by mail;
• the in-person voting experience;
• voter education, information, and engagement;
• election administration and race, gender, and disability;
• the impact of redistricting, primaries, top-4/IRV/ranked-choice voting, or other electoral systems on election administration;
• voting methods and voter participation;
• and more. 

Additional Information

The 2024 Election Science, Research, and Administration (ESRA) conference seeks to be the most diverse and inclusive conference in ESRA’s history. We also strongly encourage proposals that examine questions impacting a diverse representation of communities.   

The University of Southern California and ESRA are committed to upholding the highest standard for professional conduct. Harassment, misconduct and other unethical behavior is prohibited and all participants should be aware of and comply with USC’s and California’s anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies.