About · Team
The people behind the research
Ballot Lab is led by practitioners and leading scholars in social choice, game theory, and experimental economics.
Leadership & Governance
Who runs Ballot Lab
Board President
Aaron Hamlin
Executive Director & Founder
Aaron Hamlin is a writer, researcher, and serial nonprofit founder based in Philadelphia. He’s helped to implement new voting methods in multiple cities and published research that enables direct experimental comparisons between voting methods. His work combines election reform, public-facing analysis, and institution building. He’s the author of the upcoming book Invisible Democracy and founded Ballot Lab in 2026.
Board Secretary
Eric Sanders
Technologist
Eric Sanders works as a startup technologist in Los Angeles where he’s helped to build job-matching algorithms. He also co-produced TEDxNYED, the first TED conference on education technology; co-created Big Think’s top-15 podcast Think Again; and wrote Big Think’s political science column. Eric previously served on an election reform nonprofit board in the 2010s and has long been involved in election reform.
Board Treasurer
Jan Kok
Engineer
Jan Kok is a software and electrical engineer based in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has experience in embedded systems, robotics and machine control, engineering software, and electronic product development. He’s served on an election reform nonprofit in the 2010s and has regularly been involved in voting method reform.
Advisors
Academic advisors
Advisor
Steven Brams
Professor of Political Science, NYU
Steven Brams is a political scientist and game theorist based in New York. He’s known for his work on voting methods, fair division, and strategic behavior. He’s published research on social choice theory and co-developed approval voting. He co-authored the merits of the method in Approval Voting and has since written other books such as Mathematics and Democracy.
Advisor
Jean-François Laslier
Director of Research, CNRS; Professor, Paris School of Economics
Jean-François Laslier is a French economist and social choice theorist known for his work on voting methods, especially approval voting. He has made important contributions to the study of electoral systems, strategic voting, and collective choice, and co-edited the Handbook on Approval Voting.
Advisor
Herrade Igersheim
Research Professor, CNRS, BETA, University of Strasbourg
Herrade Igersheim is a French economist whose work spans social choice theory, experimental economics, and the history of economic thought. She’s published on approval and evaluative voting methods. She co-wrote the bookThe Individual and the Other in Economic Thought.
Advisor
Lindsey Cormack
Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology
Lindsey Cormack is a political scientist based in New York. She also heads DC Inbox which analyzes all of Congress’ newsletters. Her work focuses on elections, political communication, and civic engagement. She’s published research on voter turnout, gender and representation, and ordinal ballots. Her most recent book is How to Raise a Citizen.
Advisor
Marc Kilgour
Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University
Marc Kilgour is a Canadian mathematician and social choice theorist. He’s known for his work on voting methods, especially approval voting and multi-winner elections. He’s published influential research on committee selection, collective decision-making, negotiation, and game theory. He co-authored the Handbook of Group Decision and Negotiation.
Collaborators
Research collaborators
Under construction — this section will list individuals and organizations contributing to specific studies.