A Precinct Too Far: Turnout and Voting Costs – Online Appendix Enrico Cantoni* February 11, 2019 A Election Calendars The electoral calendars of the two states were remarkably similar in 2012 through 2016. Both held U.S. Senate elections in 2012 and 2014, voted for governor in 2014, and held presidential primaries on March 1, 2016; in addition, the most pop- ulous cities in the two states (Boston and Minneapolis) held mayoral elections in November 2013. In the 2012 presidential election, Massachusetts and Minnesota allowed no form of early voting and required a valid excuse to vote absentee by mail.1 Thus, the only legitimate way most voters had to cast their ballots was by traveling to their assigned polling places on Election Day.2 Unlike the voters in Massachusetts, where an ex- *Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Piazza Scaravilli 2, 40126, Bologna (BO), Italy (e-mail:
[email protected]). 1Valid excuses in MA being: absence on Election Day for any reason, physical disability, or religious beliefs (M.G.L. ch.50 §1; M.G.L. ch.54 §86; M.G.L. ch.54 §89). 2Massachusetts state law prescribes stiff penalties for those who make a false absentee ballot application: a fine of up to $10,000 and up to five years in prison (M.G.L. ch.56 §5). Although it is difficult to assess the extent of illegal absentee voting, practical reasons suggest that to be lim- ited. Most importantly, casting an absentee ballot is far from automatic. An application needs to be mailed or hand-delivered to the elections office before each election.