Election Day Voter Registration in Massachusetts

R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Massachusetts

Election Day Voter Registration in Vermont

We have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Vermont adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). Under the system proposed in Vermont, eligible voters who miss the current six-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote on Election Day. The availability of Election Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of EDR in the other states that use this process, we find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout. We offer the following voter turnout estimates for Vermont under EDR: Overall turnout could go up by 4.8 percentTurnout among those aged 18 to 25 could increase by 10.2 percent.Turnout for those who have moved in the last six months could increase by 8.6 percent. Turnout among the poorest citizens could increase by 6.1 percent, while turnout among the wealthiest citizens would likely increase by only 3.3 percent

Party System Compactness: Measurement and Consequences

An important property of any party system is the set of choices it presents to the electorate. In this paper we analyze the distribution of parties relative to voters in the multidimensional issue space and introduce two measures of the dispersion of the parties in the issue space relative to the voters, which we call measures of the compactness of the parties in the issue space. We show how compactness is easily computed using standard survey items found on national election surveys. Because we study the spacing of the parties relative to the distribution of the voters, we produce metric-free measures of compactness of the party system. The measures can be used to compare party systems across issues, over time within countries, and across countries. Comparing the compactness of party systems across countries allows us to determine the relative amount of issue choice afforded voters in different polities. We examine the compactness of the issue space and test the impact it has on voter choice in four countries: the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, and Great Britain. We demonstrate that the more compact the distribution of the parties in the issue space on any given issue, the less voters weight that issue in their vote decision. Thus we provide evidence supporting theories suggesting that the greater the choice offered by the parties in an election, the more likely it is that issue voting will play a major role in that election

Election Day Voter Registration in Iowa

R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Iowa

Impact of the lipid-based nutrient supplements on prevention and treatment of childhood moderate undernutrition

Purpose: This review aims at assessing the effectiveness of LNS interventions for prevention and/or treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), stunting and other anthropometric indicators for undernutrition in children younger than 5 years. Methodology: Eighteen clinical trials on LNS (soybased or milk-based) supplementation in children were compared with habitual diet/control or corn-soy blend (CSB). Mean changes in height for age (HAZ), weight for age (WAZ) and weight for height z-scores (WHZ) were assessed as primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes included: weight gain, height, mid upper arm circumference (MUAC), recovery from MAM, occurrence of fever, diarrhoea and cough. Findings: The pooled estimate revealed a statistically significant increase in WAZ (weighted mean difference [WMD] =0.09; 95%CI= 0.02, 0.15; p=0.01), WHZ (WMD=0.14; 95%CI= 0.01, 0.26; p=0.000) and improved recovery from MAM (Risk Ratio [RR] = 1.37; 95%CI= 1.14, 1.65; p=0.000) in children receiving LNS compared with control or CBS. No significant effect was observed in HAZ (WMD=0.00;95%CI=-0.02,0.03: p=0.578). Children fed with milk-based LNS (RR=1.68; 95%CI=1.17, 2.39; p=0.005) were more likely to recover significantly from MAM when compared with CSB. Conclusion: Although there is evidence that LNS yield better nutritional outcomes than CSB and control, it is impossible to conclude that the milk-based LNS are superior to soy-based LNS and whether age and duration of intervention significantly affect the effectiveness of LNS on childhood undernutrition. Further research is required before these products can be recommended at scale

Election Day Voter Registration in New Mexico

R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in New Mexico. Among the findings: Overall turnout could go up by 5.6 percent. Turnout among those aged 18 to 25 could increase by 10.2 percent. Turnout for those who have moved in the last six months could increase by 9.0 percent. Turnout among Latinos could increase by 6.4 percent. Turnout among the poorest citizens could increase by 6.3 percent. Turnout among the wealthiest citizens would likely increase by 3.2 percent