Thessalia Merivaki – The Conversation

Voters cast their ballots in Madison, Wisc., on Nov. 8, 2022, as numerous close races draw to a close. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

November 9, 2022

Midterms 2022: 4 experts on the effects of voter intimidation laws, widespread mail‑in voting – and what makes a winner

Thessalia Merivaki, Mississippi State University; Bertrall Ross, University of Virginia; Jeffrey Lazarus, Georgia State University, and Mara Suttmann-Lea, Connecticut College

Some election results will take days or longer to materialize – but on election night, a panel of scholars offer initial takeaways on mail-in voting, how to win an election and voter suppression.

It can take more than just big outdoor signs to encourage people to vote. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

August 31, 2022

Local election offices often are missing on social media – and the information they do post often gets ignored

Thessalia Merivaki, Mississippi State University and Mara Suttmann-Lea, Connecticut College

When election officials share voting information on social media, voters benefit – and so does democracy.

Rivko Knox, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters in Phoenix, and other voters sued Arizona over a law that bans the third-party collection of early mail-in ballots. The issue is now before the Supreme Court. AP Photo/Anita Snow

March 15, 2021

Is ballot collection, or ‘ballot harvesting,’ good for democracy? We asked 5 experts

Nancy Martorano Miller, University of Dayton; Domingo Morel, Rutgers University - Newark; Frank J. Gonzalez, University of Arizona; Richard L. Hasen, University of California, Irvine, and Thessalia Merivaki, Mississippi State University

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether a ban on the third-party collection of mail-in ballots is legal. The practice is allowed in 26 states.

Voting is well underway in many states. Here, an early voting station in Lincoln, R.I., Oct. 13, 2020. Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

October 26, 2020

Obstacles to voting: 6 essential reads on the challenges of election 2020

Catesby Holmes, The Conversation

Experts explain five big threats to this year’s election, from Russian interference to voter intimidation at the polls – plus some tips to make sure every vote is counted.

With its largely white and older workers, this poll site in Maine is typical of poll sites across the U.S. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

September 17, 2020

Poll workers on Election Day will be younger – and probably more diverse – due to COVID‑19

Thessalia Merivaki, Mississippi State University

An army of mostly older, white volunteers run America’s voting sites. They’re reluctant to work during a pandemic. So new recruits are signing up to run the polls, for better and for worse.

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