RESEARCH

An Assessment of Voting Technology and Ballot Design
The events surrounding the 2000 presidential election called attention to the fact that voting technology and ballot design can influence election outcomes. Since 2000, states have commissioned studies, revamped election administration, redesigned ballots, and begun to invest in new voting equipment. This project brings together social and computer scientists from a number of disciplines to study voting technology and ballot design.

Campaign Assessment and Candidate Outreach Project
Can good politics be winning politics? Can candidates who insist upon taking the "high road" get elected? If so, how do they do it and how can other candidates learn from their practical real-life experiences? The campaign assessment and candidate outreach project addresses these and related questions.

Congressional Donors Study
Funded by the Joyce Foundation and conducted in collaboration with Professors Clyde Wilcox of Georgetown University, Lynda Powell of the University of Rochester, and John Green of the University of Akron, this study examines individual contributors to House and Senate campaigns.

Debate Advisory Standards Project
Far too little attention has been devoted to political debates below the presidential level. In elections for statewide, district and local offices, debates play a major role in providing information to voters about the candidates. The Debate Advisory Standards Project, funded through a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and sponsored by the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland, has as its goal the improvement of candidate debates by developing nonpartisan standards for debates and the sponsorship of debates.

Maryland Campaign Finance Project
Campaign finance reform has been a hotly debated topic in the Maryland General Assembly, the U.S. Congress, and other legislatures. This project examines how Marylanders feel about the state's existing campaign finance system and various reform proposals. It also tracks the flow of money in elections for the Maryland General Assembly.

For more information on Professor Herrnson's research, visit the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at www.capc.umd.edu.