INDEPENDENT ELECTION RESEARCH
Taking the guesswork out of election reform
Ballot Lab produces independent studies and reports on election reforms so policy is guided by evidence.
THE PROBLEM
Jurisdictions adopt voting reforms based on advocacy and partisan preference. Mistakes are costly to reverse and often accepted as “good enough.”
OUR APPROACH
Independent comparative studies using best practices and readable reports built for decision-makers.
HOW WE WORK
Rigorous by design
Every Ballot Lab experimental study follows the same process from design to publication to ensure findings are trustworthy and reproducible.
1
Preregistered Design
Study plans are peer-reviewed, published, and locked in before data is collected.
2
Two-Stage Peer Review
Independent review at both the design and write-up stages.
3
Immediate Public Access
Results are published as soon as the reviewed write-up is complete (regardless of traditional journal publication).
4
Open Data & Code
All data, code, and materials are publicly available after the write-up.
RESEARCH AREAS
What we’re studying
Our first studies and reports are in development. Here’s where we’re focused.
Single-Winner Methods
Comparative studies on how different voting methods perform across real elections.
COMING SOON
Proportionality
New metrics enabling apples-to-apples comparisons across multi-winner methods.
COMING SOON
Best Practice Reports
Evidence-based recommendations for jurisdictions evaluating reform options.
COMING SOON
THE TEAM
Who’s behind Ballot Lab
Founder
Aaron Hamlin
Executive Director, Ballot Lab
Expertise: Electoral research design & theory, direct advocacy, serial social entrepreneurship
Advisor
Steven Brams
NYU Professor, Political Science Department
Expertise: Applied game theory, social-choice theory, bargaining and fairness
Advisor
Jean-François Laslier
Director of Research, CNRS
Expertise: Social choice, welfare, game theory, behavioral economics, political science