About
The Election Research Database is a centralized, nonpartisan repository of research related to U.S. election administration and election law. It is designed to make academic studies, legal analyses, audits, and policy research easier to find, browse, and understand in one place.
Elections are studied across many disciplines—political science, law, economics, public administration, computer science, and more—but the research itself is often fragmented across journals, court filings, government websites, and institutional archives. This project brings that work together into a single, searchable database.
What This Database Contains
The Election Research Database aggregates and organizes research on topics including, but not limited to:
- Election administration and election management
- Voter registration systems and list maintenance
- Audits, recounts, and election verification
- Election litigation and court decisions
- Polling places, voting methods, and access to the ballot
- Election technology and security
- Post-election reviews and administrative analysis
Entries may include academic papers, government reports, legal filings, policy analyses, and reputable summaries of election-related research.
What This Database Is (and Is Not)
This database is intended to be a reference tool, not an advocacy platform.
- It does not promote a political party, candidate, or ideology.
- It does not attempt to resolve policy debates or endorse specific reforms.
- It does not claim to be exhaustive or definitive.
Instead, the goal is to provide users—researchers, journalists, policymakers, election officials, students, and the public—with easier access to existing research so they can explore the evidence for themselves.
Why This Project Exists
Reliable information about elections is essential to democratic governance. Yet high-quality election research is often difficult to locate, siloed across institutions, or buried behind academic paywalls and technical language.
By organizing election research in a clear, searchable format, the Election Research Database aims to:
- Reduce friction in finding credible election-related research
- Improve transparency around how elections are studied and evaluated
- Support informed discussion about election administration and policy
- Serve as a long-term reference for election professionals and the public
How the Database Is Built
Entries are collected from a range of publicly available sources, including academic journals, government agencies, courts, and research institutions. Each entry is categorized by topic, jurisdiction, and year to make browsing and comparison easier.
Where possible, the database links directly to original source material. Summaries or descriptions are provided for navigational purposes only and are not a substitute for the underlying research.
Ongoing Development
The Election Research Database is an evolving project. New research is added on an ongoing basis, and the database will continue to expand over time as additional materials are identified and cataloged.
If you are aware of relevant research that should be included, or if you identify an error or omission, feedback is welcome.