New Report: Voter Confidence in Context and the Effect of Winning

Using national survey data from the 2006 general election, authors Morgan H. Llewellyn, Thad E. Hall and R. Michael Alvarez of the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project conclude that voter confidence in the voting process is influenced by the context of the election, as well as who wins and what voting technology is used. Supporters of winning candidates/parties have more post-election confidence in the election than supporters of losing candidates/parties. And voters using electronic voting machines equipped with voter-verified paper audit trails increases voters’ confidence in the process as well.Voter Confidence in Context and the Effect of Winning, August 2008