Analysis of Layout Impacts on Resource Allocation for Voting: A Los Angeles Vote Center
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Date of Original Version
12-14-2020
Abstract
The overlap of facilities layout planning and resource allocation models are relatively new and untested in election administration. Depending on the jurisdiction, Election Day(s) in-person voting location layouts are either planned, suggested with rough drawings, or arranged election officials at the time of set up. This study aims to build better analytical options for election administrators prior to Election Day. A vote center in Los Angeles County, California, during their 2020 Presidential Primary was investigated with discrete-event simulation to determine differences in performance based on layout and operational changes. The results indicate that by separating the processing of provisional voters at check-in, a significant reduction in the amount of time that voters spend in the vote center can be realized. This finding indicates the potential benefit of additional innovation and research investigating the relationship between facility layout and resource allocation for improved voter routing methods and polling location performance.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Proceedings - Winter Simulation Conference
Volume
2020-December
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Bernardo, Nicholas D., Gretchen A. Macht, and Jennifer Lather. "Analysis of Layout Impacts on Resource Allocation for Voting: A Los Angeles Vote Center." Proceedings - Winter Simulation Conference 2020-December, (2020): 3128-3139. doi: 10.1109/WSC48552.2020.9383877.