Administration of Absentee Ballot Programs

1. Americans cast their ballots in three main ways: at a traditional neighborhood polling place on election day; early, in person at a government office or voting center; and absentee, which is usually submitted early by mail. The proportion of all ballots cast by the latter two methods continues to rise steadily. 2. The introduction and expanded use of convenience (absentee and early) voting does not seem to have increased voter turnout. 3. Because they generally take place before election day, both absentee and early voting complicate late changes in ballots. 4. Compared with traditional and early voting, absentee voting results in more lost votes. It is more susceptible to two types of problems for voters and officials: errors that result in higher ballot rejection rates and less security in the voting process. To minimize these concerns, we recommend early voting as a preferable way to increase voter convenience. 5. In many cases, absentee-voting rule changes that might reduce one problem arguably exacerbate the other, so there is no clear optimal set of procedures for absentee voting in regard to such matters as submission deadlines or voter validation methods. 6. Some standardization in absentee-voting rules, however, should be relatively uncontroversial. We conclude with several suggestions for best practices. Facilitate fast delivery of absentee requests by offering many means for making requests. Provide postage for returning absentee ballots by mail, and cautiously consider other means for transmitting absentee ballots. Favor traditional election day voting over early voting, and prioritize early voting over absentee voting. Encourage voters to check the status of their absentee ballots before election day. Avoid counting ballots before election day

the Recruitment and Training of Poll Workers: What We Know from Scholarly Research

In every election an army of temporary poll workers must be recruited and trained to both assist the public in exercising the right to vote and to enforce the rules governing the voting process. These poll workers are geographically dispersed and serve as the front line workers interacting with tens of millions of voters. Principal-agent theory suggests that this is a difficult task for election officials. Because they are self-selected, poll workers may not be the most qualified. Because they are spread across many jurisdictions simultaneously, they have discretion to shirk their duties. Success or failure in these endeavors is widely assumed to be crucial for voter satisfaction and confidence in the integrity of elections, which may in turn influence voter participation and trust in government generally

New evidence shows that letting people vote early benefits Republicans while Election-Day Registration helps Democrats

While Republicans tend to make it harder for people to vote through initiatives such as Voter ID requirements, Democrats tend to be in favor of measures which make voting easier, such as early and Election-Day registration. But do both measures advocated by Democrats actually have an impact on turnout? Barry Burden, David Canon, Ken Mayer and Donald Moynihan have examined vote returns across three presidential elections and find that while Election-Day registration laws are better at stimulating those who are on the fence to turn out – usually Democrats, early voting measures tend to encourage those who have already decided to vote – usually Republicans

Descriptive and Substantive Representation in Congress: Evidence from 80,000 Congressional Inquiries

A vast literature debates the efficacy of descriptive representation in legislatures. Though studies argue it influences how communities are represented through constituency service, they are limited since legislators’ service activities are unobserved. Using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we collected 88,000 records of communication between members of the U.S. Congress and federal agencies during the 108th–113th Congresses. These legislative interventions allow us to examine members’ “follow‐through” with policy implementation. We find that women, racial/ethnic minorities, and veterans are more likely to work on behalf of constituents with whom they share identities. Including veterans offers leverage in understanding the role of political cleavages and shared experiences. Our findings suggest that shared experiences operate as a critical mechanism for representation, that a lack of political consensus is not necessary for substantive representation, and that the causal relationships identified by experimental work have observable implications in the daily work of Congress.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150606/1/ajps12443-sup-0001-SuppMat.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150606/2/ajps12443.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150606/3/ajps12443_am.pd

Understanding young people's transitions in university halls through space and time

This article contributes to the theoretical discussion about young people's transitions through space and time. Space and time are complex overarching concepts that have creative potential in deepening understanding of transition. The focus of this research is young people's experiences of communal living in university halls. It is argued that particular space-time concepts draw attention to different facets of experience and in combination deepen the understanding of young people's individual and collective transitions. The focus of the article is the uses of the space-time concepts 'routine', 'representation', 'rhythm' and 'ritual' to research young people's experiences. The article draws on research findings from two studies in the North of England. © 2010 SAGE Publications

Investigation of Dyslexia and SLI Risk Variants in Reading- and Language-Impaired Subjects

Dyslexia (or reading disability) and specific language impairment (or SLI) are common childhood disorders that show considerable co-morbidity and diagnostic overlaps and have been suggested to share some genetic aetiology. Recently, genetic risk variants have been identified for SLI and dyslexia enabling the direct evaluation of possible shared genetic influences between these disorders. In this study we investigate the role of variants in these genes (namely MRPL19/C20RF3,ROBO1,DCDC2, KIAA0319, DYX1C1, CNTNAP2, ATP2C2 and CMIP) in the aetiology of SLI and dyslexia. We perform case–control and quantitative association analyses using measures of oral and written language skills in samples of SLI and dyslexic families and cases. We replicate association between KIAA0319 and DCDC2 and dyslexia and provide evidence to support a role for KIAA0319 in oral language ability. In addition, we find association between reading-related measures and variants in CNTNAP2 and CMIP in the SLI families

Learning environment, attitudes and anxiety across the transition from primary to secondary school mathematics

Past research has revealed that, relative to primary-school students, high-school students have less-positive attitudes to mathematics and perceive their classroom environments and teacher–student relationships less favourably. This study involved the transition experience of 541 students in 47 classes in 15 primary (year 7) and secondary (year 8) government and Catholic schools in metropolitan and regional South Australia. Scales were adapted from three established instruments, namely, the What Is Happening In this Class?, Test of Mathematics Related Attitudes and Revised Mathematics Anxiety Ratings Scale, to identify changes across the transition from primary to secondary school in terms of the classroom learning environment and students’ attitude/anxiety towards mathematics. Relative to year 7 students, year 8 students reported less Involvement, less positive Attitude to Mathematical Inquiry, less Enjoyment of Mathematics and greater Mathematics Anxiety. Differences between students in Years 7 and 8 were very similar for male and female students, although the magnitude of sex differences in attitudes was slightly different in Years 7 and 8

Sources, composition, and export of particulate organic matter across British estuaries

Estuaries receive and process a large amount of particulate organic carbon (POC) prior to its export into coastal waters. Studying the origin of this POC is key to understanding the fate of POC and the role of estuaries in the global carbon cycle. Here, we evaluated the concentrations of POC, as well as particulate organic nitrogen (PON), and used stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to assess their sources across 13 contrasting British estuaries during five different sampling campaigns over 1 year. We found a high variability in POC and PON concentrations across the salinity gradient, reflecting inputs, and losses of organic material within the estuaries. Catchment land cover appeared to influence the contribution of POC to the total organic carbon flux from the estuary to coastal waters, with POC contributions >36% in estuaries draining catchments with a high percentage of urban/suburban land, and <11% in estuaries draining catchments with a high peatland cover. There was no seasonal pattern in the isotopic composition of POC and PON, suggesting similar sources for each estuary over time. Carbon isotopic ratios were depleted (−26.7 ± 0.42‰, average ± sd) at the lowest salinity waters, indicating mainly terrigenous POC (TPOC). Applying a two-source mixing model, we observed high variability in the contribution of TPOC at the highest salinity waters between estuaries, with a median value of 57%. Our results indicate a large transport of terrigenous organic carbon into coastal waters, where it may be buried, remineralized, or transported offshore