the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research
In every election an army of temporary poll workers must be recruited and trained to both assist the public in exercising the right to vote and to enforce the rules governing the voting process. These poll workers are geographically dispersed and serve as the front line workers interacting with ten...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project
2015
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97656 |
| _version_ | 1826214540914720768 |
|---|---|
| author | Burden, Barry C. Milyo, Jeffrey |
| author_facet | Burden, Barry C. Milyo, Jeffrey |
| author_sort | Burden, Barry C. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | In every election an army of temporary poll workers must be recruited and trained to both assist the public in exercising the right to vote and to enforce the rules governing the voting process. These poll workers are geographically dispersed and serve as the front line workers interacting with tens of millions of voters. Principal-agent theory suggests that this is a difficult task for election officials. Because they are self-selected, poll workers may not be the most qualified. Because they are spread across many jurisdictions simultaneously, they have discretion to shirk their duties. Success or failure in these endeavors is widely assumed to be crucial for voter satisfaction and confidence in the integrity of elections, which may in turn influence voter participation and trust in government generally. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:07:05Z |
| format | Working Paper |
| id | mit-1721.1/97656 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:07:05Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/976562019-04-12T12:49:07Z the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research Burden, Barry C. Milyo, Jeffrey In every election an army of temporary poll workers must be recruited and trained to both assist the public in exercising the right to vote and to enforce the rules governing the voting process. These poll workers are geographically dispersed and serve as the front line workers interacting with tens of millions of voters. Principal-agent theory suggests that this is a difficult task for election officials. Because they are self-selected, poll workers may not be the most qualified. Because they are spread across many jurisdictions simultaneously, they have discretion to shirk their duties. Success or failure in these endeavors is widely assumed to be crucial for voter satisfaction and confidence in the integrity of elections, which may in turn influence voter participation and trust in government generally. 2015-07-02T18:03:51Z 2015-07-02T18:03:51Z 2013-09-06 Working Paper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97656 en_US VTP Working Paper Series;111 application/pdf Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project |
| spellingShingle | Burden, Barry C. Milyo, Jeffrey the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research |
| title | the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research |
| title_full | the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research |
| title_fullStr | the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research |
| title_full_unstemmed | the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research |
| title_short | the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research |
| title_sort | recruitment and training of poll workers what we know from scholarly research |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97656 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT burdenbarryc therecruitmentandtrainingofpollworkerswhatweknowfromscholarlyresearch AT milyojeffrey therecruitmentandtrainingofpollworkerswhatweknowfromscholarlyresearch AT burdenbarryc recruitmentandtrainingofpollworkerswhatweknowfromscholarlyresearch AT milyojeffrey recruitmentandtrainingofpollworkerswhatweknowfromscholarlyresearch |