The Gap Within: Impact of Separate Gender Polling Stations on Voter Turnout

• In Event: Comparative Politics of Gender and Politics

Abstract

Governments in several countries create separate-gender polling stations to encourage female voting. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of this policy. We estimate the impact of separate-gender polling stations on voter turnout using administrative data from the 2018 general election in Pakistan. We find that being assigned to separate-gender polling stations is associated with a reduction in turnout for both women and men by 2 and 1 percentage points respectively, when compared to the turnout of women and men in mixed-gender polling stations. Our results remain consistent after controlling for the role of resources, norms, and mobility-related costs. Together, these results indicate that separate-gender polling stations do not alleviate gender-based voting constraints faced by women.

Authors

• Muhammad Khudadad Chattha

• Shruti Lakhtakia