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Researches the historical development and contemporary politics of the U.S. Congress, especially its powerful committee system and complex budget procedures. Developed techniques for measuring the valuation that legislators place on specific committees and has compiled a database of all committee assignments in the Congress' history. Research has shown how motivation for election shapes the sorts of committees and budget procedures that the legislature has developed. Since 2000, has studied error rates in vote-tabulation equipment nationwide, revealing systematic problems arising from specific technologies and causing state and federal legislators to justify banning punch card and lever-voting machines. Continues to conduct research on how to assess the performance of the American electoral system.