2024 Conference

About the 2024 Conference

The 8th Annual Summer Conference on Election Science, Reform, and Administration (ESRA) was held in person from May 16-17, 2024 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. 

Looking for more information? Use the quick links below to learn more about the conference.

Sponsors

We are grateful to the supporters who make the 2024 conference possible, including:

  • Democracy Fund
  • Election Trust Initiative
  • States United Democracy Center
  • Data Viewpoint LLC
  • USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
  • USC Price School of Public Policy
  • USC Department of Political Science and International Relations
  • USC Schwarzenegger Institute
  • USC Library 
  • USC Center for Inclusive Democracy

2024 Host Committee

 

Christian Grose

Christian Grose is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southern California, and is the Academic Director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy.

 

Mindy Romero

Mindy Romero is the founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID), formerly known as the California Civic Engagement Project, which is part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and is based in Sacramento, California. Romero is a political sociologist and holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on political behavior and race/ethnicity, and seeks to explain patterns of voting and political underrepresentation, particularly among youth and communities of color in California and the U.S.

2024 Program Committee

 

Natalie Adona

Natalie Adona is the Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters in Nevada County, California. She is on the Board of Directors for the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, an Advisory Board Member for the Election Official Legal Defense Network, a Member of the Bipartisan Policy Center Elections Task Force, and a member of the Journal of Election Administration, Research & Practice Editorial Board.

 

Lisa Bryant

Lisa A. Bryant, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at California State University, Fresno. Her research in election administration and voter behavior includes studies on voter confidence, voter ID, vote registration, and how election reforms, such as vote centers, influence turnout.

 

Raquel Centeno

Raquel Centeno is a Ph.D. student in the Political Science and International Relations department at the University of Southern California. Her dissertation focuses on the intersections of partisan polarization with partisan and racial identities, and her work in election science and reform is primarily interested in how different primary systems and voting methods influence political behavior across racial and ethnic subgroups of voters. 

 
Bernard Fraga

Dr. Bernard L. Fraga is a political scientist who studies American elections, focusing on racial/ethnic politics, voter turnout, and the impact of election laws on voters and politicians. He is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Emory University.

 
Dean Logan

Dean C. Logan oversees the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. The department is responsible for registering voters, maintaining voter files, administering federal, state, local and special elections and verifying initiatives, referenda and recall petitions. Los Angeles County, with more than 500 political districts and 5.2 million registered voters, is the largest and most complex county election jurisdiction in the country.

 
Scott McDonell

Scott McDonell currently serves as the County Clerk for Dane County, Wisconsin having been elected to the position on November 6, 2012, and reelected in 2016 and 2020. As Clerk, McDonell is known for being the first clerk in the state to issue same-sex marriage licenses and organizing other clerks to do so after a Federal court struck down the state's ban in Wolf v. Walker but before the ruling was put on hold pending an appeal. McDonell has also been prominent in various disputes involving elections and the electoral process, overseeing recounts in the 2020 presidential elections and navigating threats to election workers and administrators, and for his clashes with state legislators over voting access during the COVID pandemic.

 
Kevin Morris

Kevin Morris is a Senior Research Fellow and Voting Policy Scholar at the Brennan Center for Justice. His work focuses on access to the ballot box, election administration, and the role of white racism in American democratic backsliding.