Early Voting Restrictions Impact on Local Elections

• In Event: Evidence about Voter Suppression, Voter Fraud, and Administrative Discretion

Abstract

Election administration scholarship often focuses on what encourages or discourages voter turnout. States adopted early voting laws, which extend the duration of the voting period, to increase turnout. Scholarship primarily focuses on the impact of early voting on turnout in national and state elections. Studies show that in-person early voting has no significant or a negative impact on turnout in these elections. Little has been done to examine the effect of early voting on local elections where turnout is exceptionally low. Studies that do examine early voting and local elections often exclude variables necessary when studying localities, like mayor/manager administration systems, which influence voter turnout in local elections. Using data on Ohio’s localities and turnout from 2001-2017, I find that in-person early voting depresses turnout in local elections. Recently, some states have reduced the early voting period by scaling back the number of days voters can vote. Reducing early voting has been shown to diminish participation in presidential elections. I contend the reduction of early voting in Ohio in 2014 will have a less diminishing effect on turnout than it did in 2005, but will not restore turnout rates prior to early voting in 2005. The results indicate a negative relationship on municipal voter turnout suggesting that in-person early voting laws alone may not be an adequate policy solution.

Author

• Gayle Alberda, Fairfield University