About EARC

The Election Administration Research Center (EARC), located at UC Berkeley Law, seeks to improve the administration of elections through research, education, training, technical assistance, and public outreach. Established in January 2005 on the University of California Berkeley campus, the EARC studies elections at the national, regional, and local levels — both within the US and internationally — and disseminates its findings to election officials, academic researchers, and the public.

EARC develops materials and procedures to improve election administration and conducts training for election officials and election observers. Research and publication topics include:

• The organization of election agencies or authorities.
• Voter registration systems and processes.
• The mechanisms for seating election officials.
• The background and professionalization of election officials and agency staff.
• The development and implementation of voting systems used by jurisdictions.
• The accessibility of voting systems for people with disabilities or limited language skills.
• Programs for early voting, absentee voting, and voting by mail.
• Voting by members of the military and citizens living abroad.
• The recruitment and training of Election Day workers.
• The establishment, furnishing, and management of polling sites.

EARC staff have conducted studies specifically on poll worker programs in California, online voter registration systems in Arizona and Washington, and military and overseas voting across the United States. These efforts have contributed to a broader and deeper knowledge of election systems as a whole.

EARC staff work closely with state and local election officials by teaching in their certification programs, gathering relevant data about their experiences, attending professional conferences, and disseminating reports with suggested practices.