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Punch Cards, Jim Crow, and Al Gore: Explaining Voter Trust in the Electoral System in Georgia, 2000

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Charles S. Bullock III ,
M. V. Hood III  and
Richard Clark
Charles S. Bullock III
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
M. V. Hood III
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Richard Clark
Affiliation:
Carl Vinson Institute of Government
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Abstract

Following the problems with presidential voting in Florida in 2000, voters and political scientists became interested in election administration. While empirical studies have shown that different election equipment can produce different tabulation error rates, little is known about the factors that affect voters' perceptions of good election administration. Using a survey of voters in Georgia, we examine these perceptions of the voting process. We find that black voters and Democrats were significantly less confident than others that their votes were counted accurately and that they were also more likely to express concerns over the election equipment they used. In contrast, the actual voting environment, including the type of voting equipment used, appears to have no direct bearing on voters' trust in the process.

Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , Fall 2005 , pp. 283 - 294
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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