Climate, weather & elections: Who should pray for rain?

Until recently, historians offered anecdotal evidence that weather affected voter turn out on election day. The author will review recent studies that indicate a connection between stormy weather and voter turn out during a Presidential election. As importantly, the author will show examples of how elements of weather and climate affect the performance of voting machines. New voting system standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology address performance issues of both paper based and touch screen voting systems under various climatic conditions. More information is available at http://vote.nist.gov