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Activity Number:
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460
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Type:
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Invited
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Date/Time:
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Thursday, August 7, 2008 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
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Sponsor:
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Social Statistics Section
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| Abstract - #300330 |
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Title:
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Voter Confidence and the Election Day Voting Experience
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Author(s):
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J. Quin Monson*+ and Kelly Patterson and David Magleby and Ryan Claassen
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Companies:
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Brigham Young University and Brigham Young University and Brigham Young University and Kent State University
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Address:
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Dept. of Political Science, Provo, UT, 84602,
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Keywords:
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voter satisfaction ; election administration ; voter confidence ; exit polls ; elections ; voting
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Abstract:
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The underlying objective of voting reforms is to improve public confidence in the election system; however, little is known about the conditions voters actually face and how this affects their confidence. In 2006, the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University collected exit poll data on the voting experience and characteristics of individual voters together with data of the actual conditions at the polling locations in Franklin (Columbus) and Summit (Akron) counties in Ohio as well as statewide in Utah. The findings reveal good reasons for boards of elections to invest in improving service at polling places. The service voters receive at the polling place affects their confidence that ballots will be counted accurately. Equipment differences across jurisdictions, wait times, voter sense of privacy, and voter partisanship also affect confidence.
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