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Researchers: rural jurisdictions lag on technology and face staffing, communication strains
Summary
At the EAC 2025 Data Summit, researcher Cameron Wimpy highlighted persistent rural–urban differences: lower adoption of some technologies, fewer voters per polling place, pronounced poll‑worker recruitment challenges and consistent communication barriers that limit rural officials' ability to reach voters.
A research presentation at the EAC Data Summit highlighted persistent differences between rural and urban election jurisdictions and flagged practical constraints that limit service parity.
Dr. Cameron Wimpy (Arkansas State University) reported that many rural jurisdictions have lower adoption rates of e‑poll books and other newer tools, fewer voters per polling place, smaller staffing pools and greater reliance on vendors or outside IT support. Wimpy noted the return to older poll‑worker age distributions after a brief 2020 uptick in younger workers, and described chronic recruitment difficulties in the most remote jurisdictions.
Wimpy also emphasized communications gaps: some rural clerks must advertise in newspapers that no longer serve the immediate community or rely on radio that may not reach isolated neighborhoods. He said officials often lack budgets to modernize outreach and that many jurisdictions operate with multiple disconnected systems (registration, poll workers, ballots) that require manual reconciliation and create reporting burdens.
On outcomes, Wimpy showed that some rejection and processing rates are lower in the most rural places — a pattern he cautioned may reflect lower volumes or other structural differences rather than better performance. He recommended more granular research at the local level, improved outreach to rural officials, and experiments with peer networks or regional supports that would bring researchers and field practitioners together in locales they serve.
Why it matters: rural jurisdictions conduct a large share of election administration units by count and face distinctive operational constraints that affect costs, recruitment and voter outreach. Wimpy urged funders, researchers and associations to tailor support and data products so remote jurisdictions can use them without large additional staff burdens.
