Turnout | Voting Technology Project

The Introduction of Voter Registration and Its Effect on Turnout

Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/26/2008 - 11:44.

in

Date Published:

01/01/2009

Author(s):

Stephen Ansolabehere

David M. Konisky

Studies of voter turnout across states ﬁnd that those with more facilitative registration laws have higher turnout rates. Eliminating registration barriers altogether is estimated to raise voter participation rates by up to 10%. This article presents panel estimates of the effects of introducing registration that exploits changes in registration laws and turnout within states. New York and Ohio imposed registration requirements on all of their counties in 1965 and 1977, respectively.

Studying Elections: Data Quality and Pitfalls in Measuring the Effects of Voting Technologies

Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/19/2008 - 14:01.

in

Working Paper No.:

21

Date Published:

01/01/2009

Author(s):

R. Michael Alvarez

Stephen Ansolabehere

Charles Stewart III

Professor Geralyn Miller reminds us of the range of voting administration practices across the United States. We use this variability to study the average performance of various types of voting equipment throughout the country (Ansolabehere and Stewart n.d.). Professor Miller suggests that the performance of equipment is, in fact, quite variable across states.

The Perverse Consequences of Electoral Reform in the United States

Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 12:46.

in

Author(s):

Adam Berinsky

Journal:

American Politics Research

pp:

471-491

Date Published:

01/01/2009

A number of electoral reforms have been enacted in the United States in the past three decades that are designed to increase turnout by easing restrictions on the casting of ballots. Both proponents and opponents of electoral reforms agree that these reforms should increase the demographic representativeness of the electorate by reducing the direct costs of voting, thereby increasing turnout among less-privileges groups who, presumably, are most sensitive to the costs of coming to the polls.