Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S.
This paper summarizes what systematic evidence exists about the performance of the American voting process in 2004 and proposes a comprehensive system of performance measures that would allow citizens and officials to assess the quality of the voting system in the U.S. Despite the great deal of att...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | en_US |
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Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96573 |
| _version_ | 1826207124665925632 |
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| author | Stewart III, Charles H. |
| author_facet | Stewart III, Charles H. |
| author_sort | Stewart III, Charles H. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This paper summarizes what systematic evidence exists about the performance of the American voting process in 2004 and proposes a comprehensive system of performance measures that would allow citizens and officials to assess the quality of the voting system in the U.S.
Despite the great deal of attention paid to voting reform from 2000 to 2004, and billions of dollars spent, there is surprisingly little systematic evidence of improvement in how elections are conducted in the United States. The best evidence of improvement comes in assessing the overall quality of voting machines that were used, and here the news is good. Nonetheless the measures used to assess voting machines could be greatly improved. There is little systematic, nationwide evidence of whether registration problems declined, polling places were administered better, or whether voter tabulations were more accurate.
In thinking about how to improve data gathering about the election system, we first need to specify four principles guiding data gathering (uniformity, transparency, expedition, and multiple sources) and three major obstacles (federalism, state and local officials, and disputes over the purpose of elections). With these principles and obstacles in mind, I sketch out a basic data gathering agenda intended to allow the public to assess the quality of voting in the United States. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:44:30Z |
| format | Working Paper |
| id | mit-1721.1/96573 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:44:30Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/965732019-04-10T16:58:19Z Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. Stewart III, Charles H. American voting process Voting performance measures Voting reform Data agenda Evaluation This paper summarizes what systematic evidence exists about the performance of the American voting process in 2004 and proposes a comprehensive system of performance measures that would allow citizens and officials to assess the quality of the voting system in the U.S. Despite the great deal of attention paid to voting reform from 2000 to 2004, and billions of dollars spent, there is surprisingly little systematic evidence of improvement in how elections are conducted in the United States. The best evidence of improvement comes in assessing the overall quality of voting machines that were used, and here the news is good. Nonetheless the measures used to assess voting machines could be greatly improved. There is little systematic, nationwide evidence of whether registration problems declined, polling places were administered better, or whether voter tabulations were more accurate. In thinking about how to improve data gathering about the election system, we first need to specify four principles guiding data gathering (uniformity, transparency, expedition, and multiple sources) and three major obstacles (federalism, state and local officials, and disputes over the purpose of elections). With these principles and obstacles in mind, I sketch out a basic data gathering agenda intended to allow the public to assess the quality of voting in the United States. 2015-04-14T19:39:02Z 2015-04-14T19:39:02Z 2005-09-04 Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96573 en_US VTP Working Paper Series;36 application/pdf Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project |
| spellingShingle | American voting process Voting performance measures Voting reform Data agenda Evaluation Stewart III, Charles H. Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. |
| title | Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. |
| title_full | Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. |
| title_fullStr | Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. |
| title_short | Measuring the Improvement (Or Lack of Improvement) in Voting Since 2000 in the U.S. |
| title_sort | measuring the improvement or lack of improvement in voting since 2000 in the u s |
| topic | American voting process Voting performance measures Voting reform Data agenda Evaluation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96573 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stewartiiicharlesh measuringtheimprovementorlackofimprovementinvotingsince2000intheus |