Who Uses Inferior Voting Technology?

In this article, we report on the incidence of punch-card and other voting equipment by ethnicity, incomes and other variables, combining county-level demographic data from the Census Bureau with county-level data on voting equipment collected by Election Data Services, Inc. Our findings, widely reported in the national print and electronic media in late January and February of 2001, provide remarkably little support for the view that resource constraints cause poorer counties with large minority populations to retain antiquated or inferior voting equipment.voting, elections

Roll-off at the top of the ballot: intentional undervoting in American presidential elections

Every four years, more than 2% of voters fail to cast a valid vote in the U.S. presidential contest. The 2000 election highlighted the fact that many intended votes are voided because of voter confusion associated with complicated ballot designs or voting equipment. Using survey data, this study provides estimates of the proportion of voided presidential ballots that do not represent errors but rather intentional undervotes. Voters who are older, poorer, and who do not identify with either major party are more likely to intentionally refrain from casting a presidential vote. African American-white differences are very minor, implying that racial disparities in the rate of voided votes cannot be attributed to a stronger tendency among African American voters to intentionally skip the presidential contest.voting, elections, turnout

Viewers like you: community norms and contributions to public broadcasting

The logic of collective action (Olson 1965) suggests that public broadcasting may be underprovided, because non-contributors are not excluded from receiving the benefits. Why do so many individuals voluntarily contribute to public television, even though they can obtain the benefits of public television without contributing? We explore the hypothesis that giving to public broadcasting is determined in part by the strength of "civic norms" that limit the opportunistic behavior of individuals in large-numbers prisoners' dilemma settings. We also explore a variety of other explanations for charitable giving and collective action, including group size, tax deductibility, crowd out, and selective incentives. Our findings provide evidence linking civic norms and giving to public broadcasting. Education and income have indirect effects through strengthening civic norms. We find some evidence that selective incentives increase the average size of contributions among those who contribute.collective action, selective incentives, norms, free riding, social capital, public goods

Voided Ballot in the 1996 Presidential Election: A County-Level Analysis

This county-level study examines factors associated with the rate of voided presidential ballots in the 1996 elections. Evidence indicates that voided ballots are significantly more prevalent in counties with higher percentages of African Americans and Hispanics. The relationship between voided ballots and African Americans disappears, however, in counties using voting equipment that can be programmed to eliminate overvoting. The rate of voided ballots is lower in larger counties, and in counties with a higher percentage of high school graduates. The rate of voided ballots declines as the number of presidential candidates on the ballot increases, but only up to a point, and then rises with further increases. Lever machines generate the lowest rates of voided ballots among types of voting equipment, with punch card systems generating the highest rates.voting, turnout

Should the Missouri State Legislature Consider Early/Advance Voting?

In Missouri, advance or early voting has been considered by the General Assembly not necessarily because it may increase turnout, but because it is convenient for voters and could ease the problems of election administration such as those experienced in St. Louis. Historically, voters across the nation have been allowed to vote absentee, primarily due to illness or absence from the jurisdiction on Election Day.1 Early or advance voting is a relatively recent development that permits voters to vote before Election Day for any reason. They may vote at a satellite location (such as a mall, grocery store or library), at the county clerk's offi ce (or the election board office in jurisdictions with election boards), or other county office, as determined by the “election authority”. Some states offer liberalized absentee voting, where voters may vote absentee, often by mail, with no excuse at all as an alternative to early voting. These mechanisms offer somewhat different opportunities and present different challenges than advance voting but, more importantly, they are not under consideration in Missouri. Consequently, they are not examined here.Includes bibliographical reference

Federal Election Reform Bill Will Require Action by Missouri

President Bush has just signed into law the “Help America Vote Act” (H.R. 3295). The bill authorizes almost $4 billion in grants to states for improvements in voting technology and election administration, and imposes several requirements. SB 675, passed by the Missouri Legislature in 2002, addresses many, but not all of the requirements in the federal legislation.Includes bibliographical reference

Voided Ballot in the 1996 Presidential Election: A County-Level Analysis

This county-level study examines factors associated with the rate of voided presidential ballots in the 1996 elections. Evidence indicates that voided ballots are significantly more prevalent in counties with higher percentages of African Americans and Hispanics. The relationship between voided ballots and African Americans disappears, however, in counties using voting equipment that can be programmed to eliminate overvoting. The rate of voided ballots is lower in larger counties, and in counties with a higher percentage of high school graduates. The rate of voided ballots declines as the number of presidential candidates on the ballot increases, but only up to a point, and then rises with further increases. Lever machines generate the lowest rates of voided ballots among types of voting equipment, with punch card systems generating the highest rates

For shame! The effect of community cooperative context on the probability of voting

The question of why some people vote in American national elections and others do not has been the focus of a vast literature in social science. Numerous empirical regularities have been established, such that we now know "who votes" and who doesn't, in the sense that various demographic characteristics -- most notably education -- are strongly correlated with turnout (Wolfinger and Rosenstone 1980; Teixeira 1987, 1992). A consensus on "why", in the form of theories and evidence on the motives of individuals, has been slower to emerge. This study builds on previous work emphasizing the political relevance of civic norms prescribing social cooperation. In this analysis, we use a county-level variable -- mail-in census response rates -- to measure the strength of civic norms in counties represented in the 1992 American National Election Study (NES), finding that the likelihood of one’s voting increases with the county’s census response rate, controlling for the usual set of factors associated with turnout. We explore one information source by which people may learn about community expectations, the newspaper

Voided Ballot in the 1996 Presidential Election: A County-Level Analysis

This county-level study examines factors associated with the rate of voided presidential ballots in the 1996 elections. Evidence indicates that voided ballots are significantly more prevalent in counties with higher percentages of African Americans and Hispanics. The relationship between voided ballots and African Americans disappears, however, in counties using voting equipment that can be programmed to eliminate overvoting. The rate of voided ballots is lower in larger counties, and in counties with a higher percentage of high school graduates. The rate of voided ballots declines as the number of presidential candidates on the ballot increases, but only up to a point, and then rises with further increases. Lever machines generate the lowest rates of voided ballots among types of voting equipment, with punch card systems generating the highest rates

Viewers like you: community norms and contributions to public broadcasting

The logic of collective action (Olson 1965) suggests that public broadcasting may be underprovided, because non-contributors are not excluded from receiving the benefits. Why do so many individuals voluntarily contribute to public television, even though they can obtain the benefits of public television without contributing? We explore the hypothesis that giving to public broadcasting is determined in part by the strength of "civic norms" that limit the opportunistic behavior of individuals in large-numbers prisoners' dilemma settings. We also explore a variety of other explanations for charitable giving and collective action, including group size, tax deductibility, crowd out, and selective incentives. Our findings provide evidence linking civic norms and giving to public broadcasting. Education and income have indirect effects through strengthening civic norms. We find some evidence that selective incentives increase the average size of contributions among those who contribute