Voting Access and Turnout

Do changes in election laws change voting behaviour? Does making voting more convenient increase turnout?

(3)1. Citizens who are almost certain to cast a ballot will not be affected by marginal changes in the rules; they will vote regardless 2. Low-likelihood voters may simply be beyond the reach of any voting reforms 3. For people near the voting threshold, small changes have the highest likelihood of turning nonvoters into voters, or vice versa

How does a smaller pool of voters during off-cycle elections make it easier for interest groups to mobilize

- Because turnout is lower, they have to convince less people to support their cause in order to get the majority - aka need fewer resources to win - Because turnout is lower, it is easier for them to identify and contact potential supporters - Once interest groups identify likely supporters, they can counter the demobilizing effect of "off-cycle" elections for this specific group of people - For example, it can provide these potential supporters with information about the candidates, ensure that they know the date of the election and their polling place, and give them rides to the polls - This activity lowers the cost of voting for the individuals strategically mobilized by the interest group, all the while keeping its likely opponents at bay.

why does Hersh believe that the study on Voter ID laws and the suppression of minority votes was inaccurate?

- Furthermore, low-SES citizens, who are most affected by voter ID laws, are less likely to be registered to vote and less likely to respond to surveys - As a result, the data studied has selection bias

What happens when VBM ballots are distributed weeks before Election Day

- Gives citizens flexibility in deciding when to vote - However, it also increases the window of time for new campaign information to be revealed after people have been given the opportunity to vote

What are some of the problems associated with convenience voting?

- Provide citizens the opportunity to cast ballots without being exposed to the information revealed in the final weeks leading up to election day - This creates the possibility that informational differences will cause VBM and polling place voters to vote differently

What were the results of the field test regarding the impact of registration drives? Specifically, what was the impact on registration?

- There was a 4.4% increase in registration due to door-to-door canvassing - This suggests that registration is a burden for a portion of the eligible population

How did the registrations, caused by registration drives, convert into voter turnout? In relation to class differences? (2)

- newly registered people vote at lower rates than the previ-ously registered people in poor neighborhoods - While the people registered as a result of the experi- ment in wealthier neighborhoods exhibit participation rates on par with their previously registered neighbors

What's convenience voting? (3)

- non-polling place forms of voting - Used by a growing segment of the US electorate - Voting-by-mail and early in-person voting are the most common

what happens when multiple interest groups are involved in an off-cycle election? (2)

1. As long as two groups' policy goals are not in conflict with one another, it is likely that they both benefit from off-cycle election scheduling. 2. However, if they are competing over policy, off-cycle election timing will advantage whichever group is the largest, best organized, and best equipped to dominate the polls on the day of the election.

How did VBM affect the relative performance of candidates remained in the race, during the 2008 California presidential primary? (3)

1. Barack Obama performed worse relative to Hillary Clinton among VBM voters. 2. Obama may have gained some momentum following his victory in the South Carolina primary that was lost on some VBM voters. 3. Obama may have been more likely to gain the support of Edwards' former supporters.

What crucial information can be revealed in the last weeks of a campaign? (information that could change voting behaviour)

1. Candidate withdrawals 2. Election results in other states 3. Debate performances and campaign advertisements 4. Endorsements from newspapers and public figures 5. Polls and election coverage by the mass media

What are the effects of election laws?

1. Direct effects 2. Indirect effects

What are the direct effects of election laws? (2)

1. Direct effects of election laws stem from the costs imposed by the state 2. For example: registration requirements, polling locations and hours, identification requirements

what should governments do to limit the impact of VBM? How can they minimize the information gap? (2)

1. Election officials should consider waiting until closer to Election Day to send out mail ballots 2. or instruct people on ballots to make sure to wait until they are ready to make a decision before voting

Why is Turnout higher when local elections occur at the same time as national and state elections Elections ? (4)

1. For a voter who has already turnout out to vote in a national or statewide election, the marginal cost of voting in a local race held on the same day is virtually zero 2. As a result, the turnout rate for the local race is likely to be approximately equal to that of the national/statewide election 3. When the local election is held on an entirely different day, on the other hand, the marginal cost of voting in that local race is considerably higher 4. For many voters, the increase in the cost of voting outweighs any potential benefit they could receive from their preferred local candidates being elected

How and why do voter ID laws effect minority turnout? (3)

1. Individual citizens who do not have the required identification will learn about the identification requirements and will decide not to vote 2. Individuals will try to vote and will be turned away at the polls 3. Even if they have the proper identification, some citizens might feel targeted by these laws and might therefore choose not to participate

Why does early voting decrease turnout?

1. It reduces the civic significance of elections for individuals - It turns a large-scale social activity that once took place on a single election day into a weeks-long process that diffuses public visibility 2. It alters the incentive for political campaigns to invest in mobilization

Arguments against voter-ID laws (4)

1. Lack of identification is particularly acute among the minority population, the poor, and the young 2. serve as effective barriers that limit the legitimate participation of racial and ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups 3. ID laws have sometimes been equated to poll taxes 4. there is almost no voter fraud and thus little reason to enact these laws in the first place

Would people's choice in response to this new information? (2)

1. Many voters will almost certainly vote for a given candidate no matter what information is revealed in the final weeks of the campaign - For example, some supporters continue to support their preferred candidates after they have withdrawn from the race 2. However, other voters' candidate choices could change as a result of this information - If such information is revealed after VBM ballots have been cast, the use of VBM may affect election outcomes.

How does low turnout create a strategic opportunity for interest groups? (2)

1. Members of interest groups with a large stake in an election outcome turn out at high rates regardless of election timing - Because general turnout is low, the interest group makes up a greater proportion of the electorate 2. The efforts of interest groups to mobilize and persuade voters have a greater impact during off-cycle elections

Why is there a difference in conversions between registration and turnout between social classes? What does this signify?

1. One possible explanation for the class difference is that newly registered persons in high-status neighborhoods are exposed to more campaign activity and social pressure to vote 2. The increase in registration is largest on relatively poor streets, but this difference is counterbalanced by higher turnout among new registrants on relatively affluent streets 3. Voter registration will assist a nontrivial portion of the electorate but not alter the overall composition of the electorate

What effect does election day registration have on turnout? (2)

1. Overcomes the screening effects of the closing date of registration 2. Does so without robbing Election Day of its stimulating effects

What's Election Day registration and why should it increase turnout (3)

1. Permits eligible voters to both register and vote on Election Day 2. This should increase turnout by eliminating the need for 2 separate actions: registering in advance and then casting a ballot at a later day 3. Permits voters to register at the last moment when interest is highest

why does early voting alter the incentive for political campaigns to invest in mobilisation? (3)

1. Political campaigns strategically consider the political environment as they choose to invest resources to mobilize voters 2. When much of the eligible population has already voted in advance of Election day, there is less payoff for continued get-out-the-vote activities 3. The volume of ads is lower in states with early voting, and the ramp up of ads before Election Day is also less steep in these states

Different forms of ID laws (3)

1. Strict voter ID laws: require identification in order to cast a regular ballot. 2. Other more lenient laws request, but do not require voters to show some kind of identification document at the polls 3. Some laws consider nonphoto identification while others do not

Arguments in favour of voter ID laws (4)

1. Supporters of these laws argue that fraud is a real and potentially widespread phenomenon that could alter electoral outcomes and erode faith in democracy 2. Advocates also argue that voter identification laws do not reduce the participation of citizens because they do not prevent legitimate voters from entering the voting booth. 3. For the tiny subset of Americans who do not have identification, the requirement represents a small hurdle that is easily overcome 4. The American public strongly favors these laws

What are the conclusions of "Voter Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes"

1. There are substantial drops in minority turnout in strict voter ID states and no real changes in white turnout. 2. These laws serve not only to diminish minority participation but also to increase the gap in the participation rate between whites and nonwhites. 3. The rate at which Republicans and conservatives outvote Democrats and liberals is much higher when strict photo laws are in place 4. The share of voters with anti-immigrant and anti-minority views grows substantially when strict voter identification laws are in place 5. Strict voter ID laws appear to diminish the participation of Democrats and those on the left, while doing little to deter the vote of Republicans and those on the right.

Election Day as a social event (2)

1. Traditional Election Day is a social event as well as a political one 2. For at least some voters, what gets them to the polls is the stimulation of the day's news, observation of activities at the polling places and conversations with friends and neighbors

what was the impact of VBM during the 2008 California presidential primary

1. Use of VBM affects the relative performance of candidates remaining in the race 2. Also increases the probability of selecting withdrawn candidates - candidates who withdrew from the election in the days before Super Tuesday received greater support among VBM voters.

What do the differences between VBM voters and Election Day voters suggest? (3)

1. VBM voters did not fully incorporate information about candidate withdrawals and momentum. 2. Voters underestimate the likelihood that their candidate preferences will shift 3. Voters significantly changed their vote choices in response to the campaign environment

On-cycle elections and turnout (3)

1. Voter turnout varies considerably with different types of elections 2. Local elections have the lowest turnout 3. Since more voters are drawn to the polls in national and statewide elections than in local elections, voter turnout for local elections is much higher when those elections are combined with national or statewide elections

What effect does early voting have on turnout

1. associated with lower turnout when it is implemented by itself 2. The added convenience of early voting decreases the direct costs of voting, but this effect is more than offset by a reduction in mobilization efforts, resulting in lower net turnout

What are the indirect effects of election laws? (3)

1. election laws indirectly affect mobilization by nongovernmental actors 2. For example: Media, campaigns, interest groups, Friends, family

why are the effects of VBM more pronounced during primary elections? (3)

1. late-breaking information is more likely to affect vote choice. 2. Unlike general elections, voters often cannot rely on longstanding attachments and information that is known well before ballots are mailed out. 3. For instance, while partisanship and issue positions strongly affect vote choices in general elections, in primaries party labels are constant and candidates often take similar stances on public policy questions.

How do Election Day activities spur turnout (3)

1. provide information about candidates and the process of voting 2. introduce some normative pressure to vote 3. Enhance the social benefits of taking part in a collective enterprise - When these activities are diluted, or at least redistributed over time, so is the stimulating effect

How did the study prove that off-cycle elections increase the power of interest groups? (5)

1. the author examines school district elections 2. Teacher unions are the dominant interest group in school district elections 3. Teachers turn out to vote at disproportionately high rates and their differential turnout is largely motivated by occupational self-interest 4. districts that hold off-cycle elections pay significantly higher teacher salaries than districts that hold on-cycle elections. 5. interest groups that stand to benefit from off-cycle elections are active in lobbying legislators for the implementation of off-cycle elections.

What's Election Day (4)

1. the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years. 2. It is the day when popular ballots are held to select public officials. 3. These include national, state and local government representatives at all levels up to the president. 4. However, most election officials are not elected on "election day"

Why is it easier for interest groups to mobilize voters when during off-cycle elections?

1. the pool of likely voters is small 2. The smaller the number of races on the ballot, the fewer groups will competing for the attention of voters -In an on-cycle election, an interest group that hopes to persuade likely voters of its preferred choice in one race must compete for voters' attention with groups campaigning for other races that share the same election day

How does the strategic advantage of interest groups during off-cycle elections affect policy (2)

1. when interest groups compete in elections, the candidates favored by the largest and best organized interest group will be more likely to win when the election is held off-cycle as opposed to on-cycle 2. Consequently, the policy made by officials elected in off-cycle elections will be more favorable to the largest, best organized interest group active in elections

What happens when you combine early voting with Election Day registration?

Combining the two offsets the negative effect of early voting

Why have state governments implemented election laws?

State governments have experimented with a variety of election laws to make voting more convenient and increase turnout

what is the impact of off-cycle elections on the influence of interest groups?

The decrease in turnout that occurs during off-cycle elections, creates a strategic opportunity for organized interest groups

How do nongovernmental lower or raise the cost of voting

These actors indirectly raise or lower the costs of voting depending on how much information they provide and the social incentives for voting they generate

What's Same-day registration

permits people to both register and vote in a single act prior to Election day

What's early voting

practices that permit voters to cast ballots prior to Election day

"Off-cycle" or "nonconcurrent" elections

refers to an election that is held on a different day than other elections that attract greater political participation.

On-cycle elections meaning

those decided on the same day as elections for president and Congress.