Election Influencers: The Impact of State Voting Regime Stringency on Voter Turnout Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic saw many states change their voting laws in a variety of ways leading up to the 2020 presidential election. Following that election and prior to the midterm election last November, states chose either to make voting even easier or harder, or else maintain a similar cost of voting as before. After broadening my analysis to include the 2016 and 2018 elections, I examine the possible impact that a state’s cost of voting had on its voter turnout. I also examine the possibility of a state’s partisanship impacting its cost of voting, which would in turn affect turnout, as well as the potential direct impact of partisanship on turnout. In order to determine the success of some states changing their voting regimes in an effort to favor Republicans, I also test the impact of voter turnout on Republican vote share, as well as the impact of a state’s cost of voting on Republican vote share. I find that more stringent voting laws do tend to decrease turnout, while the other relationships are less clear. 

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………..………………………………1

Research Questions………………………………………………….…………………………….2

Literature Review…………………………………………….……………………………………4

Theory…………………………………………………………………...……………………….13

Research design…………………………………………………………………………...……..18

Data construction, results, and analysis………………………………………………….………22

Robustness checks……………………………………………………………………………….67

Discussion……………………………………………….……………………………………….70

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...………..77

References………………………………….…………………………………………………….78

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Political Science
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Political Science, General
Palabra Clave	American elections
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Zachary Peskowitz, Emory University
Committee Members	Bernard Fraga, Emory University Richard Doner, Emory University

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