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REVISITING THE U.S. VOTING SYSTEM: A RESEARCH INVENTORY

November 27-28, 2006

Convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Llyod Leonard

THE DESIGN AND OPERATION OF THE 21ST CENTURY POLLING PLACE

The League of Women Voters is interested in the design and operation of the 21^st Century polling place.

The League believes there is need for research to establish baseline date on current practices (which might be called the 20^th Century polling place), with particular emphasis on how minorities (racial, ethnic, language, disability and age) move through the polling process and on those practices that improve both efficiency and the voter’s perception of the voting experience.

The polling place is where most election processes come together. A well-managed polling place with well-trained workers is vital, on Election Day and as part of the early voting process in many states. Often, too little direct attention is paid to this issue. We have more than 200,000 polling places staffed by 1.4 million poll workers, many of whom receive modest training. The polling place is where workers organize the polling process and manage the equipment, assist voters with new machines, ensure the proper handling of provisional ballots and deal with sometimes confusing check-in and verification procedures. Polling place management is central to the election process.

Two major areas would benefit from research: organization and training.

Polling place organization might focus on such issues as:

1) the flow of voters through the process, including check-in, verification., voting, second-chance-voting, and trouble shooting;

2) the number and type of machines needed to deal with capacity (including the number of voters and the type and length of ballot);

3) the number and assignments of poll workers and supervisors; and

4) back-up systems in case of problems (ballots, workers, etc.).

Training and supervision for the polling place might focus on such issues as:

1) types of skills needed for various tasks at the polling place;

2) training requirements and methods for those types of skills;

3) supervisor skills and training;

4) performance standards for poll workers and supervisors; and

5) post-election audits of polling place performance.

With research on current practices in these areas, followed by an examination both of current best practices and new models, the next steps could then be taken to develop the 21^st Century polling place.

Submitted by Lloyd Leonard

Senior Director for Advocacy

League of Women Voters of the United States