http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- New data collected as part of a North Carolina State University study during the 2009 municipal election in Hendersonville, N.C., show that voters prefer instant run-off voting (IRV) to traditional voting - a finding that may build support for IRV. The use of IRV precludes the need for a second run-off election, saving voters time and providing election results more promptly. http://www.physorg.com/news179076822.html Other Sciences Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:34:13 EST news179076822 (PhysOrg.com) -- Last week, in Takoma Park, Md., a new cryptographic voting system that could ensure accurate vote counts was used for the first time in a real election. MIT`s Ron Rivest, the Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, helped develop the system and says he`s quite pleased with how the technology worked. Takoma Park`s city clerk, Jessie Carpenter, agrees that the trial "went very well." http://www.physorg.com/news177324972.html Technology Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:10:01 EST news177324972 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study, researchers from several universities looked at why white working-class voters voted Republican in recent national elections even when they didn't like Republican policies. http://www.physorg.com/news171895728.html Other Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:49:37 EST news171895728 Of all the conceivable problems that could lead to a miscount Election Day, there's one possibility that voters can do something about - avoid making election machine-related errors, says a University of Maryland researcher who led a comprehensive study of voter problems using touch screen and paper-based machines. http://www.physorg.com/news144926300.html Other Sciences Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:18:20 EST news144926300 With only a few days remaining before Election Day, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and the Kaiser Family Foundation, writing for the November 6, 2008, New England Journal of Medicine, find that seven in ten registered voters say major changes are needed in the U.S. health care system. http://www.physorg.com/news144604183.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:49:43 EST news144604183 Do "undecided" voters actually make their choices before they realize? That is a question University of Virginia psychology professor Brian Nosek and his colleagues are trying to answer. http://www.physorg.com/news144431778.html Other Sciences Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:56:18 EST news144431778 As part of the ongoing poll series, Debating Health: Election 2008, the Harvard Public Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive conducted a new survey focused on whether voters believe the results of this presidential election will make "a great deal of difference" in the state of the nation's health care and other key policy areas. Although much has been made of voter cynicism in recent times, a majority of registered voters believe the outcome of this election will make a great deal of difference on key issues including the war in Iraq (63%), the economy (52%), the war in Afghanistan (50%), and national security (50%). This survey was conducted between October 16-19, 2008, by telephone among a national cross section of 957 registered voters in the United States. http://www.physorg.com/news144417232.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:53:52 EST news144417232 A new study shows counties can boost voters' trust in elections by making an investment in the human side of elections by recruiting new poll workers. http://www.physorg.com/news144415000.html Other Sciences Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:16:40 EST news144415000 (PhysOrg.com) -- Even among young voters receptive to Barack Obama and Sarah Palin's historic candidacies, race and gender may hurt -and help -their reputations, according to new University of Michigan research. http://www.physorg.com/news143819997.html Medicine & Health Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:59:57 EST news143819997 As part of the ongoing poll series, Debating Health: Election 2008, the Harvard Public Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive® conducted a new survey focused on how voters think the presidential candidates' health care reform plans would affect them personally - rather than how they think the plans would affect the nation as a whole. The survey found that voters view the candidates' plans differently from this perspective. Four in ten registered voters don't believe one candidate's health care plan would be better for them than the other. (This includes those who think there wouldn't be a difference for them between the plans (27%) and those who don't know if there would be (13%)). More voters think Senator Barack Obama's plan would be better for them than Senator John McCain's plan (33% vs. 27%). This survey was conducted September 17-21, 2008, by telephone among a national cross section of 935 registered voters in the United States. http://www.physorg.com/news142158334.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:25:34 EST news142158334 A new approach to determining which candidate will win the most electoral votes in the U.S. Presidential race factors in lessons learned from the 2004 election and uses sophisticated math modeling. The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). http://www.physorg.com/news140875838.html Other Sciences Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:10:38 EST news140875838 In political campaigns, timing is almost everything. Candidates communicate with voters over a long period of time before voters actually vote. What candidates say to these voters is, of course, important, but it turns out that when they say it also influences voter preferences. http://www.physorg.com/news137930004.html Other Sciences Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:53:24 EST news137930004 Trying to appear moderate is not always the best strategy for capturing votes during an election, reveals a new study. Extreme positions can build trust among an electorate, who value ideological commitment in times of uncertainty. http://www.physorg.com/news137412757.html Other Sciences Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:12:37 EST news137412757 In many political elections, undecided voters come to a decision about who they will vote for only a few days before the vote, if not the very same day of the election. A new study in the journal Political Psychology reveals that people's future voting decisions are to a significant degree determined by their current automatic mental associations, even when individuals consciously believe that they are still undecided. http://www.physorg.com/news133612752.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:39:12 EST news133612752