Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Help America Vote Act and other legislation required that local election agencies throughout the United States upgrade voting equipment and consequently implement new technology at the polling place. Funding was made available to purchase new equipment and for the training of the people who administer the elections on the street level, poll workers. This paper looks at the implementation challenges of moving from a hand-counted or mechanical system to one that employs a variety of electronic technology. For some participants in the process, this is like moving from a Locomotive to the Bullet Train in six years or less. We analyze a survey of poll workers and find large variations in how well prepared they felt to operate machines and assist voters, across technologies. Our preliminary findings illuminate inequities at the polling places, raise questions about the one person, one vote principle, and point to issues of possible vote dilution.