The MIT Election Data and Science Lab is awarding research grants to 18 teams around the country, including two projects co-led by a Fresno State professor. Dr. Lisa Bryant, a political science professor at Fresno State, is a co-principal investigator on the two grants — “Comparative Research on the Implementation of Vote Centers” and “New Mexico and Florida: Election Audits and Election Studies A Research Proposal to Pew/MEDSL.”

These 18 grants, which total nearly $2 million, will enable the teams to spend most of the next year illuminating how the election administration landscape has changed. This research will provide both new scientific insights and practical guidance for election administrators around the country. 

The grants Bryant is working on have the capability to educate and inform the public and elections officials about ballot processing and audits in a way that could meaningfully reduce voter-generated errors and stimulate policy-level discussions about improving ballots and processes.

These grants were funded by Election Performance Project LLC, a subsidiary of the Pew Charitable Trusts.