Recent elections have witnessed substantial debate regarding the degree to which state governments facilitate access to the polls. Despite this newfound interest, however, many of the major reforms aimed at increasing voting convenience (i.e., early voting and no-excuse absentee voting) were implemented over the past four decades. Although numerous studies examine their consequences (on turnout, the composition of the electorate, and/or electoral outcomes), we know significantly less about the factors leading to the initial adoption of these policies. We attempt to provide insights into such motivations using event history analysis to identify the impact of political and demographic considerations, as well as diffusion mechanisms, on which states opted for easier ballot access. We find that adoption responded to some factors signaling the necessity of greater voting convenience in the state, and that partisanship influenced the enactment of early voting but not no-excuse absentee voting procedures.
AlvarezR. MichaelLevinInesSinclairJ. Andrew. 2012. “Making Voting Easier: Convenience Voting in the 2008 Presidential Election.” Political Research Quarterly65 (2): 248–62.
3.
BaliValentina A.SilverBrian D.2006. “Politics, Race, and American State Electoral Reforms after Election 2000.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly6 (1): 21–48.
4.
BarretoMatt A.StrebMatthew J.MarksMaraGuerraFernando. 2006. “Do Absentee Voters Differ from Polling Place Voters?” Public Opinion Quarterly70 (2): 224–34.
5.
BeckNathanielKatzJonathan N.TuckerRichard. 1998. “Taking Time Seriously: Time-Series-Cross-Section Analysis with a Binary Dependent Variable.” American Journal of Political Science42 (4): 1260–88.
6.
BenteleKeith G.O’BrienErin. 2013. “Jim Crow 2.0? Why States Consider and Adopt Restrictive Voter Access Policies.” Perspectives on Politics11 (4): 1088–116.
7.
BerinskyAdam J.2005. “The Perverse Consequences of Electoral Reform in the United States.” American Politics Research33 (4): 471–91.
8.
BerryFrances StokesBerryWilliam D.1990. “State Lottery Adoptions as Policy Innovations: An Event History Analysis.” American Political Science Review84 (2): 395–415.
9.
BerryWilliam D.BaybeckBrady. 2005. “Using Geographic Information Systems to Study Interstate Competition.” American Political Science Review99 (4): 505–19.
10.
BerryWilliam D.DeMerittJacqueline H. R.EsareyJustin. 2010. “Testing for Interaction in Binary Logit and Probit Models: Is a Product Term Essential?” American Journal of Political Science54 (1): 248–66.
11.
BerryWilliam D.RingquistEvan J.FordingRichard C.HansonRussell L.1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960-93.” American Journal of Political Science42 (1): 327–48.
12.
BoehmkeFrederick J.WitmerRichard. 2004. “Disentangling Diffusion: The Effects of Social Learning and Economic Competition on State Policy Innovation and Expansion.” Political Research Quarterly57 (1): 29–51.
13.
BousheyGraeme. 2010. Policy Diffusion Dynamics in America. New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
Box-SteffensmeierJanet M.JonesBradford S.2004. Event History Modeling: A Guide for Social Scientists. New York: Cambridge University Press.
15.
BurdenBarry C.CanonDavid T.MayerKenneth R.MoynihanDonald P.2014. “Election Laws, Mobilization, and Turnout: The Unanticipated Consequences of Election Reform.” American Journal of Political Science58 (1): 95–109.
16.
CainBruce E.DonovanToddTolbertCaroline J., eds. 2008. Democracy in the States: Experiments in Election Reform. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
17.
CarterDavid B.SignorinoCurtis S.2010. “Back to the Future: Modeling Time Dependence in Binary Data.” Political Analysis18 (3): 271–92.
CitrinJackSchicklerEricSidesJohn. 2003. “What If Everyone Voted? Simulating the Impact of Increased Turnout in Senate Elections.” American Journal of Political Science47 (1): 75–90.
20.
DeNardoJames. 1980. “Turnout and the Vote: The Joke’s on the Democrats.” American Political Science Review74 (2): 406–20.
21.
DyckJoshua J.GimpelJames G.2005. “Distance, Turnout, and the Convenience of Voting.” Social Science Quarterly86 (3): 531–48.
22.
ElazarDaniel J.1984. American Federalism: A View from the States. New York: Harper & Row.
23.
EriksonRobert S.MinniteLorraine C.2009. “Modeling Problems in the Voter Identification—Voter Turnout Debate.” Election Law Journal8 (2): 85–101.
24.
GiammoJoseph D.BroxBrian J.2010. “Reducing the Costs of Participation: Are States Getting a Return on Early Voting?” Political Research Quarterly63 (2): 295–303.
25.
GronkePaulGalanes-RosenbaumEvaMillerPeter A.2007. “Early Voting and Turnout.” PS: Political Science & Politics40 (4): 639–45.
26.
GronkePaulToffeyDaniel Krantz. 2008. “The Psychological and Institutional Determinants of Early Voting.” Journal of Social Issues64 (3): 503–24.
27.
GrossbackLawrence J.Nicholson-CrottySeanPetersonDavid A.2004. “Ideology and Learning in Policy Diffusion.” American Politics Research32 (5): 521–45.
28.
HaleKathleenMcNealRamona. 2010. “Election Administration Reform and State Choice: Voter Identification Requirements and HAVA.” Policy Studies Journal38 (2): 281–302.
29.
HanmerMichael J.2009. Discount Voting: Voter Registration Reforms and Their Effects. New York: Cambridge University Press.
30.
HanmerMichael J.KalkanK. Ozan. 2013. “Behind the Curve: Clarifying the Best Approach to Calculating Predicted Probabilities and Marginal Effects from Limited Dependent Variable Models.” American Journal of Political Science57 (1): 263–77.
31.
HansfordThomas G.GomezBrad T.2010. “Estimating the Electoral Effects of Voter Turnout.” American Political Science Review104 (2): 268–88.
32.
HasenRichard L.2012. The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown. New Haven: Yale University Press.
33.
HaspelMosheKnottsH. Gibbs. 2005. “Location, Location, Location: Precinct Placement and the Costs of Voting.” Journal of Politics67 (2): 560–73.
34.
HeroRodney E.TolbertCaroline J.1996. “A Racial/Ethnic Diversity Interpretation of Politics and Policy in the States of the U.S.” American Journal of Political Science40 (3): 851–71.
35.
HerronMichael C.1999. “Post-Estimation Uncertainty in Limited Dependent Variable Models.” Political Analysis8 (1): 83–98.
36.
HerronMichael C.SmithDaniel A.2014. “Race, Party, and the Consequences of Restricting Early Voting in Florida in the 2012 General Election.” Political Research Quarterly67 (3): 646-65.
37.
IngbermanDaniel E.YaoDennis A.1991. “Presidential Commitment and the Veto.” American Journal of Political Science35 (2): 357–89.
38.
JeffeDouglasJeffeSherry B.1990. “Absence Counts: Voting by Mail.” The American Enterprise1 (1): 19–21.
39.
KarchAndrew. 2007. “Emerging Issues and Future Directions in State Policy Diffusion Research.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly7 (1): 54–80.
40.
KarpJeffrey A.BanducciSusan A.2001. “Absentee Voting, Mobilization, and Participation.” American Politics Research29 (2): 183–95.
41.
KeyssarAlexander. 2009. The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States. Revised ed. New York: Basic Books.
42.
KiewietD. RoderickMcCubbinsMathew D.1988. “Presidential Influence in the Appropriations Process.” American Journal of Political Science32 (3): 713–36.
43.
KlarnerCarl E.2003. “Measurement of the Partisan Balance of State Government.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly3 (3): 309–19.
44.
KousserMorgan. 1974. The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910. New Haven: Yale University Press.
45.
LaroccaRogerKlemanskiJohn S.2011. “U.S. State Election Reform and Turnout in Presidential Elections.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly11 (1): 76–101.
46.
LawrenceEric D.DonovanToddBowlerShaun. 2009. “Adopting Direct Democracy: Tests of Competing Explanations of Institutional Change.” American Politics Research37 (6): 1024–47.
47.
LeeFrances E.2009. Beyond Ideology: Politics, Principles, and Partisanship in the U.S. Senate. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
48.
LieskeJoel. 2012. “American State Cultures: Testing a New Measure and Theory.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism42 (1): 108–33.
McCartyNolan M.2000. “Presidential Pork: Executive Veto Power and Distributive Politics.” American Political Science Review94 (1): 117–29.
51.
MooneyChristopher Z.LeeMei-Hsien. 1995. “Legislative Morality in the American States: The Case of Pre-Roe Abortion Regulation Reform.” American Journal of Political Science39 (3): 599–627.
52.
NeeleyGrant W.RichardsonLilliard E.Jr.2001. “Who Is Early Voting? An Individual Level Examination.” The Social Science Journal38 (3): 381–92.
53.
OliverJ. Eric. 1996. “The Effects of Eligibility Restrictions and Party Activity on Absentee Voting and Overall Turnout.” American Journal of Political Science40 (2): 498–513.
54.
PivenFrances FoxClowardRichard A.2000. Why Americans Still Don’t Vote: And Why Politicians Want It That Way. Boston: Beacon Press.
55.
ShipanCharles R.VoldenCraig. 2008. “The Mechanisms of Policy Diffusion.” American Journal of Political Science52 (4): 840–57.
56.
ShipanCharles R.VoldenCraig2012. “Policy Diffusion: Seven Lessons for Scholars and Practitioners.” Public Administration Review72 (6): 788–96.
57.
SmithDaniel A.FridkinDustin. 2008. “Delegating Direct Democracy: Interparty Legislative Competition and the Adoption of the Initiative in the American States.” American Political Science Review102 (3): 333–50.
58.
SpringerMelanie J.2012. “State Electoral Institutions and Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections, 1920-2000.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly12 (3): 252–83.
59.
SteinRobert M.1998. “Early Voting.” Public Opinion Quarterly62 (1): 57–69.
60.
SteinRobert M.Garcia-MonetPatricia A.1997. “Voting Early but Not Often.” Social Science Quarterly78 (3): 657–71.
61.
SteinRobert M.VonnahmeGreg. 2008. “Engaging the Unengaged Voter: Vote Centers and Voter Turnout.” Journal of Politics70 (2): 487–97.
62.
TsebelisGeorge. 2002. Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
63.
VoldenCraig. 2006. “States as Policy Laboratories: Emulating Success in the Children’s Health Insurance Program.” American Journal of Political Science50 (2): 294–312.
64.
WalkerJack L.1969. “The Diffusion of Innovations among the American States.” American Political Science Review63 (3): 880–99.
65.
WolfingerRaymond E.RosenstoneSteven J.1980. Who Votes?New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
