Friday, March 21, 2008
10:00 – 11:30 am
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution

To read the transcript of the event, go here (PDF).
To see video from the event, go here.

Since the 2000 presidential election, the U.S. electoral system has experienced widespread reforms aimed at restoring voter confidence. Have new voting systems improved citizen satisfaction and trust in the voting process? Can citizens cast their ballots without making the same errors that occurred in Florida eight years ago? Voting Technology: The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot (Brookings, 2008) answers these and other important questions about how Americans respond to the voting systems they use on Election Day.

On March 21, the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project will host a discussion with the book's authors. Thomas Mann, co-director of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project and senior fellow at Brookings, will moderate the panel. Paul Herrnson, director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland and lead author, will offer an overview of their findings and recommendations. His co-authors--Richard Niemi of the University of Rochester, Michael Hanmer and Benjamin Bederson of the University of Maryland, and Michael Traugott of the University of Michigan--will offer additional comments.

After the program, panelists will take audience questions.

Moderator:
Thomas E. Mann
Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution; Co-Director, AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project

Opening Comments:
Paul S. Herrnson
Director, Center for American Politics and Citizenship and Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland

Panelists:
Richard G. Niemi
Don Alonzo Watson Professor of Political Science, University of Rochester

Michael J. Hanmer
Assistant Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland

Michael W. Traugott
Professor of Communication Studies and Senior Research Scientist, Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan