Do Local Election Officials Represent Their Constituents?

• In Event: Electoral Laws and the (In)equality of Democratic Representation

Abstract

Do local election officials descriptively and substantively represent their constituents? Election officials are uniquely situated to influence participation rates and alleviate persistent racial and ethnic disparities in voter participation. Yet recent surveys of election officials have found them to be overwhelmingly white. Using a newly collected panel of local election officials across thousands of counties and over two decades, a series of race imputation methods, and large scale administrative and vendor datasets on turnout and race, along with a differences-in-differences design, I test whether non-white election officials increase turnout of their non-white constituents. Additionally, I leverage variation in selection methods to test whether certain institutional mechanisms such as direct elections, consolidated authority, or partisan labels increase the responsiveness of officials to the needs of their constituents. These findings have implications for the importance of representation among local election officials and may provide insight on reducing racial disparities in political participation.

Author

• Joshua Ferrer, American University