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[Screenshot of http://web.mit.edu/vtp/calc3.html courtesy of ELECTricity]

Tomorrow (Tuesday April 29), the talented and election-geeky folks at ELECTricity will be hosting a webinar to look at line optimization tools developed to help election officials predict and prepare for their staffing and resource needs on Election Day.

Such tools were explicitly endorsed by the Presidential Commission on Election Administration in their report:

[I]mportant first steps have been taken to develop simple computer applications that demonstrate the value of industrial engineering tools in managing resource allocation for in-person voting. These resource calculators enable administrators to plan for efficient Election Day operations by judging the resources needed to accommodate the projected traffic through the polling place. [p. 42]

The webinar is free and will feature Mark Pelczarski, creator of the line optimization tool. It will take place tomorrow at 4pm Eastern time – to register, visit ELECTricity at http://act.neworganizing.com/survey/ELECTricity_20140429_Webinar/.

This should be a fascinating hour – I’m looking forward to attending!