2025 Conference Program

Monday, June 9

6:30pm-9:00pm: Welcome Reception

Location: Charlie Park, 801 S. Gadsden St., Tallahassee, FL 32301
Shuttles from the hotels starting at 6:30pm

Tuesday, June 10

7:45am-12:00pm: Registration

Location: Turnbull Conference Center
Shuttles from the hotels starting at 7:30am

7:45am-8:25am: Breakfast

Location: Second Floor Hall, Turnbull Conference Center

8:25am-8:40: Welcome and Opening Remarks

Welcome by Professor Lonna Atkeson, FSU
Opening remarks by Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd
Location: Turnbull 208

8:45am-10:00am: Panels 1, 2, and 3 (concurrent)

Panel 1 - Turnout 1
Location: Turnbull 108
Chair/Moderator: Michael Pomante II, States United

• “Turnout in Irrelevant Elections” (Brian Amos, Wichita State University)
• “Voter Confidence and Voting” (Robert Stein, Rice University; Lonna Atkeson, Florida State University)
• “Election Denialism, Voter Confidence, and Participation in the 2021 Georgia Senate Runoff Elections” (Seth McKee, Oklahoma State University; Trey Hood, University of Georgia)
• “Active ‘Inactives’: How Often Do Inactive Voters Participate in Elections?” (Molly Gahagen, Dartmouth College; Jason Barabas, Dartmouth College)

Panel 2 - Voter Confidence 1
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: Thad Kousser, UCSD

• “How State Election Laws Influence Voter Confidence and Fraud Beliefs: Insights from the Survey of the Performance of American Elections” (Mason Reece, MIT; Joseph R. Loffredo, MIT)
• “Social Context, Unemployment, and Local News: A New Look at Voter Confidence in American Elections” (Murat Abus, Syracuse University;
   Johanna Dunaway, Syracuse University)
• “America Decides, Networks Project: How Elections Coverage Shapes Voter Confidence” (Joseph R. Loffredo, MIT; Jillian Rothschild, University of Maryland, College Park; Alejandro Flores, University of Maryland, College Park;)
• “Confidence in State Elections: Outcomes, Practice, and Policy” (Charles Stewart, MIT; Joseph R. Loffredo, MIT)

Panel 3 - Designing Polls and Ballots
Location: Turnbull 103
Chair/Moderator: David Kimball, University of Missouri, St. Louis

• “Collaboration & Verification of In-Person Voting Signage Guidance” (Gretchen Macht, University of Rhode Island; Whitney Quesenbery, Center for Civic Design)
• “Optimizing Spatial Accessibility: Advancements in Vote Center Location Selection Strategies” (James Houghton, The Turnout)
• “Evaluating Ballot Design in the 2024 General Election: A Review of Sample Ballots” (Liza Gordon-Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists)
• “Can Election Technology Increase Access for Voters with Disabilities?” (Misty Crooks, Center for Civic Design; Victoria Coty, Rutgers University)

10:15am-11:05am: Panels 4, 5, and 6 (concurrent)

Panel 4 - Election Data
Location: Turnbull 108
Chair/Moderator: Seth McKee, Oklahoma State University

• “Evidence-Based Policymaking: Using the ESB Data Standard to Facilitate UOCAVA Voting” (Rachel Wright, Council of State Governments)
• “Local Election Data Collection: Promises and Pitfalls” (Michael McDonald, UF; Maxwell Clarke, UF; William Eberhardt, UF; Chase Fenske, UF; Emily Mojtabaee, UF)
• “EAVS: Federal Election Administration and Voting Survey” (Don Palmer, Election Assistance Commission)

Panel 5 - Electoral Systems
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: Anita Manion, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• “The Effects of Cross-Party Candidate Endorsements on Perceptions of Campaign Civility and Ballot Order Rankings in a Ranked Choice Voting Survey Experiment” (J. Coll, Texas Tech; Matt Lamb, Texas Tech)
• “Voter Satisfaction with Ranked-Choice Voting as a Democratic Process” (Allyson Barkley, Duke)
• “Partisanship and Voting Rule Trade-offs” (Conor Dowling, University at Buffalo, SUNY; Michael Miller, Columbia)
• “Municipal Elections and Hand Counts in 2023” (Soren Jordan, Texas A&M University)

Panel 6 - Cancelled

11:10am-12:00pm: Panels 7, 8, and 9 (concurrent)

Panel 7 - Local Election Officials' Training and Workload
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: Alysoun McLaughlin, University of Maryland

• “Training for Election Officials: Lessons from Research and Practice” (Grace Klinefelter, Bipartisan Policy; TJ Pyche, The Elections Group; Lori Edwards, Fmr. Polk County Supervisor of Elections)
• “Examining Election Administrator Training: Approaches, Challenges, and Recommendations for Local Election Offices” (Shaniqua Williams, West Virginia University)
• “Effects of Election-Related Unduly Burdensome Public Records Request on the Emotional Labor of Street-Level Bureaucrats” (David Cuillier, UF)
• “Listen to Your County Clerks, Damn It!” (Andrew Mercil, Dunn County Clerk; Scott McDonell Dane County Clerk, Kim Trueblood, Marathon County)

Panel 8 - Postelection Audits and Recounts
Location: Turnbull 103
Chair/Moderator: Charles Stewart III, MIT

• “Placing Post Election Audit and Ballot Image Data Online: Obstacles and Solutions” (Yimeng Li, FSU)
• “Pursuing Effective Election Audits to Confirm Outcomes and Build Trust” (Susan Greenhalgh, Free Speech for People)
• “Post Election Audits in Leon County, FL” (Mark Earley, Leon County Supervisor of Elections)
• “Poll Workers, Recounts, and Voter Eligibility” (Bridget King, University of Kentucky; Isaac Westfield, Auburn University)

Panel 9 - List Maintenance
Location: Turnbull 205
Chair/Moderator: Kelly Rader, States United Democracy Center
Participants: Victoria Bassetti, Senior Adviser at States United Democracy Center; Stuart Holmes, Director of Elections, Washington

• “Modernizing and Securing Voter Registration Databases: Challenges and Best Practices” (Kira Flemke, Election Innovation; April Tan, Center for Election Innovation & Research)
• “Modernizing State and Federal List Maintenance Policy” (Rachel Orey, Bipartisan Policy Center)

12:00pm-1:00pm: Lunch

With remarks by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver
Location: Turnbull 208

1:00pm-2:30pm: Poster Session 1

Location: First Floor Atrium

• “Pollbook Identification: Using Electronic Pollbooks to Evaluate Ohio's Photo ID Requirement” (Michael Morse, University of Pennsylvania; Marc Meredith, University of Pennsylvania)
• “Campaign Contributions and Electoral Competitiveness in Florida State Elections: The Effects of Florida's 2013 Campaign Finance Reforms” (Gretta Determann, Leadership Now Project; Jonathan Oxley, Georgia State University)
• “Assessing Post-Election Audit Data among Florida Counties” (Emma Barrett, FSU)
• “Timelines for the Retention and Preservation of Voted Ballots Across the United States” (Sara Nunes, University of Rhode Island)
• “Media Partisanship and the Uniformed Vote” (Marli Dunietz, FSU)
• “Fatigue, Information, and Ballot Roll-Off: Evidence from California's Alternative Ballot Order” (Yimeng Li, FSU)
• “Why the Wait? Explaining Variation in County and State Level Vote Count Speeds” (Sina Shaikh MIT)
• “The Florida Election Study” (Sarah Holland, FSU; Miguel Arceo-Miranda, Florida State University)
• “North Carolina Public Attitudes on Elections: Confidence, Concerns, and Comprehension” (Michael Bitzer, Catawba College, Christopher Cooper, Western Carolina University)
• “Tracking Peach State Voter Sentiment in 2024” (Trey Hood, UGA)
• “Election Operations Meets Lean Manufacturing: A Vote-by-Mail Systems Case Study” (Gretchen Macht, University of Rhode Island; Leonie Otte, University of Rhode Island)
• “Los Angeles’ Matching Funds Program: A Comparative Analysis” (Mindy Romero, USC)
• “Hand-Counting Ballots in Modern Elections: Does Question Type Matter?” (Nicholas D. Bernardo, Jr., Engineering for Democracy Institute)
• “Did Two Election-Season Hurricanes Affect Election Administration in the 2024 General Election?” (Zachary Garai, MIT)

2:40pm-3:30pm: Panels 10, 11, and 12 (concurrent)

Panel 10 - Poll Workers
Location: Turnbull 103
Chair/Moderator: Robert Stein, Rice University

• “Voices from the Front Lines: Poll Workers' Motivations, Confidence, and Experiences” (David Kimball, University of Missouri, St Louis; Anita Manion, University of Missouri, St Louis)
• “Greeters or Guards: Voter Identities and their Influence on How Poll Workers View Their Roles” (Matt Lamb, Texas Tech University)
• “Recruiting Poll Workers with Paid Digital Ads” (Andrew Arenge, University of Pennsylvania)
• “Incentivizing College Students to Work the Polls” (Jordan Ragusa, College of Charleston)

Panel 11 - Natural Disasters
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: Wendy Sartori Link, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections
Participants: Mark Earley, Leon County Supervisor of Elections; David Stafford, Enhanced Voting

• “Readiness and Resilience: The Impact of Disasters and Disruptions on Election Administration” (TJ Pyche, The Elections Group)
• “Stop Burying Your Head in the Sand: Electronic Ballot Return with Risk Mitigation Strategies” (Casandra Hockenberry, Council of State Governments)
• “Florida Risk Management” (Mark Earley, Leon County Supervisor of Elections)

Panel 12 - Research Partnerships Between Election Practitioners and Academics
Location: Turnbull 205
Chair: Emily Sandusky, Public Agenda

• “Do Election Observers Increase Voter Confidence?” (Wendy Hansen, University of New Mexico; Lonna Atkeson, Florida State University, Maggie Tolouse Oliver, New Mexico Secretary of State)
• “Informing the Public” (Mara-Suttmann Lea, Connecticut College; Alisa Gray, The Voting System Technical Oversight Program)
• “Developing the Next Generation of the Election Administration Workforce: The Arizona Fellows Model” (Keely Varvel, Arizona Secretary of State’s Office; Tonia Tunnell, Arizona Secretary of State’s Office; and Theo Menon, Bipartisan Policy Center)

3:45pm-5:00pm: Panels 13, 14, and 15 (concurrent)

Panel 13 - Local Election Officials
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: Mara Suttman-Lea, Connecticut College

• “Does Leslie Knope Make More Than Election Directors? Analysis of Election and Other County Directors in NC Counties.” (Zach Mohr, University of Kansas)
• “Election Skepticism and Election Administration: How Misinformation Leads to Administrative Change” (Lisa Bryant, CSU-Fresno; Paul Manson, Portland State University)
• “Confidence in Local Election Officials and Perception of Competition, by State Residence” (Mark Owens, The Citadel)
• “Reducing the Disruptions of Election Staff Turnover” (David Levine, University of Maryland)
• “Guardians under Pressure: Empowerment and Turnover Intentions Among Local Election Officials” (David Kimball, University of Missouri-St. Louis)

• ““Election Skepticism and Election Administration: How Misinformation Leads to Administrative Change” (Lisa Bryant, CSU-Fresno; Paul Manson, Portland State University)

Panel 14 - Vote By Mail
Location: Turnbull 103
Chair/Moderator: Chris Mann, Election Innovation

• “Detecting the Curables – Ballot Rejections in Vote-by-Mail” (Leonie Otte, University of Rhode Island)
• “Saving Lost Votes by Mail” (Liz Stark, University of Pennsylvania; Marc Meredith, University of Pennsylvania; Michael Morse, University of Pennsylvania)
• “Alternatives to Signature Verification: User Research Study Results” (Steve Lund, US Digital Response; Will Cavecche, King County Elections)
• “Ensuring Every Vote Counts: Vote-by-Mail Rejection and Signature Curing in California” (Mindy Romero, University of Southern California)

Panel 15 - Vote Choice and Redistricting
Location: Turnbull 205
Chair/Moderator: Michael McDonald, University of Florida

• “How Partisan are U.S. Local Elections? Evidence from 2020 Cast Vote Records” (Shiro Kuriwaki, Yale)
• “Annexations and Vote Dilution After Shelby County” (Michael Miller, Barnard College; Kevin Morris, Brennan Center for Justice)
• “Redistricting, Roll-Off, and Voter Choice” (Trey Hood, University of Georgia; Seth McKee, Oklahoma State University, David Cottrell, University of Georgia)
• “After Alexander: Race, Partisanship and Partisan Gerrymandering” (Jordan Ragusa, College of Charleston)

Shuttles to hotels starting at 5:00pm

6:00pm: Dinner

Location: Goodwood, 1600 Miccosukee Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32308
Shuttles to dinner starting at 5:45pm.
Dinner will be served at 6:30pm.

8:30pm-11:00pm

Location: Oyster City Brewing Company, 603 W. Gaines St #7, very close to conference hotels
ESRA Karaoke starts at 9:00pm.

Wednesday, June 11

8:00am-8:30pm: Breakfast

Location: Turnbull Conference Center, second floor
Shuttles from hotels starting at 7:30am

8:30am-9:45am: Panels 16, 17, and 18 (concurrent)

Panel 16 - Voter Confidence 2
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: Joseph Coll, Texas Tech University

• "The Effect of Recruiting Veterans on Improving Confidence in US Elections" (Michael Hanmer, University of Maryland)
• "A Sustained Public Information Campaign Increased Trust in Mail Voting During the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections" (Thad Kousser, UCSD; Robert Stein, Rice University)
• “Same message, different words? Exploring differences in trust-building communications among State Election Officials” (Mara Suttmann-Lea, Connecticut College)
• “Prebunking Elections Rumors: Artificial Intelligence Assisted Interventions Increase Confidence in American Elections” (Mitchell Linegar, CalTech)
• “How do Local Certification Officials Evaluate Their Elections? A Survey of Michigan County Canvassers” (Corwin Smidt, Michigan State)

Panel 17 - Turnout 2
Location: Turnbull 101
Chair/Moderator: Yimeng Li, Florida State University

• “Decomposing the Costs of Voting: Classification of State Election Registration and Ballot Casting Policy Ecosystems and Their Effects on Voter Turnout” (Michael J. Pomante II, Claremont Graduate University; Joseph A. Coll, Texas Tech University; Scott J. LaCombe, Smith College)
• “Pollbook Identification: Using Electronic Pollbooks to Evaluate Ohio's Photo ID Requirement” (Michael Morse, University of Pennsylvania; Marc Meredith, University of Pennsylvania)
• “Using the County Election Administration Index to Understand Variations in Voter Confidence and Turnout Equality” (Michael Ritter, Washington State University)
• “Lost in Transition? Registration and Turnout Differences Between Within- and Cross-County Movers” (Jon Griffiths, University of Pennsylvania)
• “Re-Estimating the Disability Turnout Gap: A New Survey on Voter Accessibility” (Devin McCarthy, ACLU)

Panel 18 - Election Observation
Location: Turnbull 205
Chair/Moderator: Lisa Bryant, CSU Fresno

• “Election Observation and You” (Alysoun McLaughlin, UMD; David Levine, University of Maryland)
• “Non-Partisan Election Observation; Building Transparency and Trust” (Rokey Suleman, Carter Center; Sarah Cooper, Carter Center)
• “Election Observation in New Mexico” (Lonna Atkeson, Florida State University; Wendy Hansen, University of New Mexico; Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico Secretary of State)

9:45am-11:15am: Poster Session 2

Location: First Floor Atrium

• “An Exploratory Study Elected and Appointed Clerk’s Perceptions for Improving Voter Education” (Dr. Ramón Pagán, California Baptist University)
• “Polling Places: Place Identity, Proximity to Cities, & Individuals’ Trust in Electoral Institutions” (Braeden McNulty, FSU)
• “Assessing Election Readiness and Resilience: A Practical Framework for Election Administrators” (Ryan Chew, Senior Election Expert, The Elections Group)
• “Testing USAEE Election Administration Standards – Bridging the Gap Between Academic and Practitioner Knowledge” (Sara Beck, Center for Tech and Civic Life)
• “Tracking the Performance of Election Offices from Public Budget Documents” (Meghen Reints, Portland State University; Connor Ayers, Portland State University)
• “Using Data Dashboards to present Election Data” (Austin Cutler, FSU)
• “Protest Votes and Non-Frontrunner Support in the 2024 Presidential Primary” (Ning Soong, MIT)
• “Trends in Voting Legislation" (Chris Diaz, Voting Rights Lab)
• “No Seat at the Table: Unaffiliated Voters in NYC’s Primaries” (Demiana Rizkalla, NYC Campaign Finance Board; Kathryn Agnas, NYC Campaign Finance Board)
• “Disrupting the Electoral Landscape: How Representatives Respond to Changes in Election Laws” (Veronica Judson, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• “Evaluation of Machine Noise Exposure in the Vote-by-Mail Process” (Leonie Otte and Gretchen Macht, University of Rhode Island)
• “Confidence in State Elections: Outcomes, Practices and Policies (Mark Owens, Citadel)
• “The Effect of Automatic Voter Registration Policies on Youth Turnout” (Rachel Funk Fordham, University of California Berkeley)
• “Does Vote-By-Mail Help Ranked Choice Voting?” (Tim Stap, Florida State University)
• “Who Wins When No One Is on the Ballot?” (David Hernandez, Wichita State University)

11:20am-12:10am: Breakout Sessions

Panel 19 - EAC Podcast: The Voting Booth
Location: Turnbull 101

• John Fortier, American Enterprise Institute
• Don Palmer, EAC Commissioner

Panel 20 - Paying for Elections
Location: Turnbull 205
Chair/Moderator: Kyle Yoder, CEIR

• “Paying for Democracy: Necessities, Challenges and Opportunities in State and Local Election Funding” (Chris Mann, Center for Election Innovation & Research; Julie Hochsztein, CEIR; April Tan, CEIR; Brian Corley, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections; Wendy Sartori Link, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections)
• “Listening to the Stewards: Budget and Staffing Dynamics from National LEO Interviews” (Paul Manson, Portland State University, Paul Gronke, EVIC Portland State University)

Panel 21 - Election Security
Location: Turnbull 208
Chair/Moderator: David Stafford, Enhanced Voting

• “Election Security in the Face of Threats: How to Protect the People and Facilities Who Run America’s Elections” (Tina Barton, Committee for Safe and Secure Elections)
• “Collaborating to Build Effective De-Escalation Strategies for Election Officials” (Yvette Deane, Princeton University; Bill Gates, Arizona State University Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory; Tina Barton, The Elections Group and Committee for Safe and Secure Elections)

12:10pm-1:10pm: Lunch

With remarks by Wendy Sartori Link, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections and President, Florida Supervisors of Elections
Location: Turnbull 208

1:10pm-1:15pm: Closing Remarks

Closing remarks by Professor Lonna Atkeson, FSU
Location: Turnbull 208

No shuttles will be provided at the end of the day.