Dr. Martha Kropf: Election policy for good

For Dr. Martha Kropf, ensuring fair and accessible elections wasn’t part of her original plan, it happened by chance.

“I hadn’t thought about it originally, honestly,” Kropf said.

After the controversial 2000 election, a friend approached her with voter equipment data, knowing she worked with census information. Their collaboration sparked a career-long focus.

“Once I had written three papers with him, more opportunities and interesting research questions started to arise,” she said.

Kropf, now a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has since become a leading voice in election administration research. At the heart of her work is a commitment to fairness.“I’m interested in making elections fair and making them work for every person in a democracy,” she said.

That interest has driven her to explore policies affecting voter access, voting technology and election security.

One of the biggest challenges she sees today is how much elections vary from state to state.

“A person in Michigan might not have the same opportunities to vote as someone in Oklahoma,” Kropf said.

This patchwork system often leaves voters unaware of how election rules differ across borders, something she believes contributes to misinformation.

“People don’t understand a lot about election administration,” she said. “It becomes very easy to take cues from elites, whether someone claims elections are rigged or that mail voting is fraudulent.”

When it comes to technology, Kropf’s perspective is multifaceted. While new voting machines were introduced after 2000 to modernize elections, skepticism has persisted.

“There’s such massive distrust of computers and the ability of people to hack them,” she said.

She added that while hand-counting ballots is sometimes seen as more trustworthy, it is often less accurate.

“I liken it to counting money for your kid’s charity event. Every time you count, you get a different number.”

Kropf is particularly hopeful about innovations like ranked choice voting, which she believes could amplify the voices of voters unaffiliated with major political parties.

“It prevents us from having costly runoff elections where nobody wants to participate,” she said, pointing to Alaska’s recent implementation as a potential model for North Carolina.

Beyond research, Kropf has worked to bridge the gap between academia and policymakers. She’s helped organize conferences connecting election scientists with local officials to make research more actionable.

“I’ve really been pushing that this field isn’t just academic,” she said. “It’s also about engaging with local and state election officials.”

Reflecting on her career, Kropf said her proudest contributions extend beyond publications.

“Maybe, as with most academics, my impact is mostly through my students,” she said.

But her work improving ballot design, voter access and election integrity leaves a lasting mark on both scholarship and society.