Members of the Engineering for Democracy Institute’s team traveled to the Election Science, Reform, and Administration (ESRA) Conference held at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in Phoenix, Arizona, at the beginning of June. During the two-day gathering, Dr. Gretchen Macht, Sara Nunes, and Leonie Otte presented a roundtable discussion, a research presentation, and four research posters on a variety of topics currently covered in EDI’s work.
The team enjoyed the hot Arizona weather (with highs of over 100°F every day) while catching up with old colleagues and making new connections. Thank you to the hosts, Arizona State University’s Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory, and the program committee for organizing a successful and enlightening event!
Posters 🏆
Congratulations to Alexis Ahle, Adriana Esposito, Leonie Otte, and Gretchen Macht, PhD! Their poster, Signature Verification by the Clock: Assessing Processing Times Throughout the Day, won the prestigious inaugural Dr. Robert Stein Award. Their research on signature verification processes is another vital contribution to EDI’s efforts to improve operational efficiency in election administration.
- Assessing Election Worker Noise Training and Hearing Protection in the Ballot Tabulation Process – Jeremy Herrera Santos, Leonie Otte, and Gretchen Macht, PhD
- 🥇 Signature Verification by the Clock: Assessing Processing Times Throughout the Day – Alexis Ahle, Adriana Esposito, Leonie Otte, and Gretchen Macht, PhD
- Elections Don’t End on Election Day: Post Election Processing Timelines Across the United States – Sara Nunes, Nicholas Bernardo Jr., and Gretchen Macht, PhD
- From Signature Rejection to Signature Curing: Investigating and Visualizing State Regulations – Leonie Otte, Bridgett King (UKentucky), and Gretchen Macht, PhD
Roundtable Discussion
From Frontlines to Online: Transforming Election Operations with Real-Time Wait Time Data – Zach Manifold (PLEJ), Brian Pollock (Kane County, IL), and Gretchen Macht, PhD
Research Presentation
Exploring Operational Trade-Offs for Mail Sorter Systems in the Vote-by-Mail Process – Leonie Otte, Judd Choate (State Election Director, Colorado), and Gretchen Macht, PhD
