Administrative Decision Making & Barriers to Political Participation

The MIT Election Data and Science Lab helps highlight new research and interesting ideas in election science, and is a proud co-sponsor of the Election Sciences, Reform, & Administration Conference (ESRA).

Bridgett King recently presented a paper at the 2019 ESRA conference entitled, “Administrative Decision Making & Barriers to Political Participation.” Here, she introduces her analysis from that paper.

Polling locations, as a system, are comprised of a series of inputs and outputs.

Inputs include the number of voters assigned to a polling location, the number of poll workers, the number of privacy booths, and the number of voting machines. Outputs include voter time in queue (TIQ) or time in system (TIS).

The goal of this project is to understand how inputs contribute to what voters might experience when casting an in-person ballot on Election Day, specifically as it relates to TIQ and TIS. Using administrative data from the 2012 general election in Florida, simulation modeling and analysis is utilized to assess the effect of administrative inputs on citizen TIQ and TIS.

You can also find more of Dr. King’s work here on our blog: Descriptive Representation in Election Administration.