Does Changing Rules Change Voting? Natural Experiment on Increasing Choices

• In Event: Leveraging the States: Improving Inferences with US State Data

Abstract

In 2018, five counties in California implemented the Voter Choice Act, a policy aimed at making voting more convenient by offering multiple methods of voting. All voters in those counties were sent an absentee ballot, which they could mail in, drop in a designated ballot drop box, or drop at a voting location on Election Day. Voters in those counties were also offered the ability to vote early in-person at a number of vote centers for a period of time prior to Election Day, an uncommon practice in California where early voting is customarily offered only at the clerk’s office. Finally, the five counties all had Election Day vote center facilities, allowing voters to vote at any location in the county rather than a home precinct, which was the model prior to the adoption of the VCA. Voters in the remaining 53 counties were offered the traditional modes of absentee ballots and in-person voting on Election Day in a precinct location. The small number of counties that chose to begin using the VCA model in 2018 creates a natural experiment, which provides a unique opportunity to explore how changes to electoral rules may influence voter behavior. This study examines to what extent voters in the five early-adopting counties differed in their choice of voting method. The study will also examine the behavior of the voters in the five VCA counties in more detail to determine if there are any discernible patterns or demographics of voters who chose to mail their ballot, vote EIP, vote on Election Day, or use a designated drop box. Differences in geography among the counties - two urban counties, one suburban, and two rural - could also contribute to differences in behavior, so GIS will be used to see if the distance to a vote center or designated drop box played a role in vote method.

Author

• Lisa A. Bryant, California State University, Fresno