Since 2000, voting systems and ballot designs have been the subject of an increasing volume of research on the part of political scientists and other researchers. The effort began with statistical studies of the 2000 election and accounts of what went wrong; these focused on the 'butterfly ballot' in Florida and then so-called residual vote across the United States. Many recent studies have used the residual vote concept to explore intentional under-voting, ballot formats, and variations in specific voting technologies. Another stream of researc has focused on usability concerns, such as the accuracy with which individuals cast their votes as intended on different voting systems and ballot styles. Two other issues have recently captured a great deal of public attention , the ability of voters to verify their votes were cast correctly using a paper receipt or some other medium, and the provision of an audit trail election officials can use to resolve close elections or to determine whether election tampering has occurred. This pilot project investigates the impact of different vote verification/election audit sytems (VVEASs) on the quality of individuals' voting experiences. VVEASs allow voters to review a paper receipt, view a separate video monitor, hear an audio recording to verify that their ballot has been correctly cast, or check an Internet website to verify that their ballot has been counted. This pilot project involves expert reviews of the various systems along with systematic tests of voter responses to different verification systems. Points of comparison include the degree to which the systems are judged easy to use and understand, the confidence they instill among voters that their votes were accurately recorded and are accurately counted, their impact on the perceived privacy of the vote, whether voters find them distracting, and whether voters need help using them. This project is guided by regular interaction with practitioners and policy makers who are responsible for the administration of elections in the United States. Interaction allows these individuals and agencies to disseminate information about the project, encourage potential beneficiaries to review the findings and use the test protocol, and communicate project findings and recommendations to companies that manufacture VVEASs.
