Balancing the Electorate: The Differential Turnout Effects of Automatic Voter Registration

• In Event: Elections, Turnout, and Ballot-Box Policy Making

Abstract

Which electoral reforms affect turnout and contribute to a more representative electorate? An emerging theory predicts that reforms affecting the cost of voter registration, in contrast to reforms affecting the cost of submitting a ballot, are most impactful—especially for lower turnout groups such as young people. In this article, I use survey and voter file data to study a new registration-based reform, automatic voter registration (AVR). Difference-in-differences results suggest that the positive turnout effects of AVR are concentrated among younger voters, with those aged 18–24 receiving the largest boost. I also find suggestive evidence that rural voters experience greater turnout gains from AVR than their urban counterparts. In line with previous research on the partisan effects of electoral reforms, I find that AVR does not consistently improve the electoral fortunes of either political party.

Author

• Rachel Funk Fordham, University of California, Berkeley
  Presenting Author