Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Convenience Voting Methods And Effects On Voter Turnout: 2004-2018, Robert Fenton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This project seeks to examine the potential effects on voter turnout of changes in the laws and policies governing convenience voting methods: the different ways for citizens to cast a ballot anywhere or anytime besides an official polling location on Election Day itself. Specifically, convenience voting methods include absentee voting, early voting, and vote-by-mail, often coming with restrictions such as requiring a valid excuse in order to make use of them. As the US Constitution and relevant federal laws leave election administration almost entirely to the individual states, there is often significant variation in the availability of convenience voting methods …