Vote Centers: The Effect of Convience Voting in California

• In Event: Poster Session: Public Administration; Public Policy; & State Politics and Policy
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: State Politics and Policy: Institutions and Representation in State Politics

Abstract

California has recently joined the list of states experimenting with the “Colorado model” of voting. The model seeks to make voting as convenient as possible. It has two main components: 1) sending every voter a vote-by-mail ballot that can be mailed in or dropped off in person; and 2) abolishing polling places in favor of a smaller number of larger, professionally-staffed vote centers that any voter in the county can use to drop off a ballot or vote a new one. California implemented this reform in five counties in 2018 through the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA), and ten more counties are set to adopt the reform this election year.

In this paper we explore the effect of the VCA on turnout in the five counties that adopted it in 2018, using a range of causal analytic methods. We find a small but fairly robust VCA effect on overall turnout. We also find gains in turnout for Latinos and young people, two historically underrepresented groups, and more ambiguous effects for a third underrepresented group, Asian Americans. In no case do we find clear evidence that the reform narrowed the representational gaps between these groups and other segments of the electorate, suggesting the reform added more voters without improving equity.

Authors

• Eric McGhee, Public Policy Institute of California

• Thad Kousser, University of California, San Diego

• Mindy Romero, USC