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Voter Registration Made Easy: Who Takes Advantage of Election Day Registration and Same Day Registration and Do They Vote?

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Voter Registration Made Easy: Who Takes Advantage of Election Day Registration and Same Day Registration and Do They Vote? Voter Registration Made Easy: Who Takes Advantage of Election Day Registration and Same Day Registration and Do They Vote? Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Jeffrey Bryan Cole, B.A., M.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Paul Allen Beck, Advisor Jan Box-Steffensmeier Ismail White Copyright by Jeffrey Bryan Cole 2012 ABSTRACT My dissertation investigates the extent to which new voter registration laws (election day registration and same day registration) achieve their goal of improving low voter turnout rates in the United States. Do more Americans vote as a result of easier registration requirements? I test two related sets of hypotheses to learn whether voter turnout increases, as many concerned lawmakers and researchers have long anticipated. The first set of hypotheses focuses largely on how citizens react when their states reduce the requirements. Specifically, are they more likely to believe that voter registration is easier? Are nonvoters less likely to cite voter registration requirements as the reason they never registered (and never voted)? Do minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged people vote at higher rates once they are allowed to use the easier procedures? The second set of hypotheses explores whether people using one of these new registration procedures are as likely to vote in subsequent elections as their counterparts who registered according to the old procedures. To test the first set of hypotheses, I use data from the Current Population Survey’s Voting and Registration Supplement. This questionnaire asks respondents whether they voted and, if not, whether they were registered. If they were not registered, researchers asked them why not. To test the second set of hypotheses, I utilize voter registration and history files from four carefully selected states. ii Whereas some researchers had predicted previously that these new laws would substantially raise turnout, both studies reveal only modest effects. Many unregistered citizens were no less likely to ascribe their status to the registration requirements than before their states enacted new laws. Likewise, citizens who registered with the aid of the new procedures were somewhat less likely to continue voting. Interestingly, contextual factors played a strong role in determining these outcomes. For example while North Carolina appears to have had more success with SDR than Iowa with EDR, one likely explanation is that North Carolina’s status as a battleground in the 2008 presidential election engendered much additional publicity regarding the election, particularly due to Obama’s aggressive turnout efforts in that state. Likewise, persons using EDR or SDR to vote in local elections are much more likely to continue voting than people using one of the procedures to vote in the 2008 presidential election. This general finding strongly suggests that motivation plays a key role in determining whether people vote. Overall, this dissertation provides a cautionary tale for the use of popular voter registration reforms as a means of improving voter turnout. Certainly, the new laws can exhibit modest effects. However, researchers and interested policy makers must also turn their attention to other means of boosting turnout. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Jeffrey and Polly Cole. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the many, many people over the years who have shaped and guided me, both in the classroom and out. Throughout my life God has blessed with me with an excellent family, mentors, colleagues and friends. Although I am unable to acknowledge everyone here, please know that I am grateful in my heart to everyone who has impacted my life in ways both great and small. None of this would have been possible without you. I begin with my family. By far my parents, Jeff and Polly Cole, have had the greatest impact on my life. I know that you have worked tirelessly and selflessly on my siblings’ and my behalves for decades. You have encouraged me far more than you realize. All you ever really asked of me was to help others and to “Show the world.” And you supported me in any way that you could in helping me achieve what I set out to do. That has taken me far. Yet there is nothing better than returning home to Louisiana and being able to hug you once I get off the plane. You mean more to me than you could ever know. I am dedicating this dissertation to you. I love you. I would also like to acknowledge my grandparents, Luther and Juanita Cole and Nina Nichols Pugh. You too are beautiful examples of selflessness and love. You have imparted to me much wisdom, especially in terms of hard work. You also sacrificed much for my education and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I love you. v I also deeply appreciate my siblings, Patrick, Caroline, and Anna. You are among the most fun and loving people I know. It has been very exciting to see over the years how we have grown together, and I know also that the future looks bright for us all. In addition I am indebted to my godparents (and aunt and uncles) Frances and Robert Harbour and Stephen Pugh. You too have always supported me and shown concern about my well-being. I would also like, of course, to acknowledge the contributions of my dissertation committee: Paul Beck, Jan Box-Steffensmeier, Herbert Weisberg and Ismail White. You have been tremendously helpful reading over each draft, offering helpful advice, criticism and suggestions at each stage. You have also helped introduce me to the profession. In particular I wish to recognize the enormous guidance I have received from Professor Beck. He has always been available to me to discuss my dissertation, my classes and any other matters about which I have asked. He has also offered extensive, detailed commentary on each chapter as I have completed it. Through that process I have been able to see tremendous improvement in my dissertation. He has enabled the dissertation to make greater contributions both to scholarship and to a very current, real world problem. At all stages he has offered encouragement, support and a friendly smile. I have truly been privileged to have such an amazing mentor and advisor; I know that I have big shoes to fill. Thank you, Professor Beck. The Ohio State University has been an excellent place to purse a PhD in political science and to gain valuable classroom experience. I am thankful for the Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship (AGGRS) and for the committee that agreed to fund my dissertation research. This money was tremendously useful for purchasing the vi Iowa Voter File. That case study has been a source of excellent insights. In addition to my committee members, I would like to thank Larry Baum and Richard Herrmann for their backing, particularly with respect to providing me with the opportunities to teach and to receive feedback. I also appreciate the many excellent people who have been my colleagues, offering advice and assistance with various parts of my dissertation. They include Jeff Budziak, Dustin Carnahan, Nyron Crawford, Chris Devine, Megan Eisenman, Nick Felts, Matt Hitt, Phil Jackson, Ben Jones, Kyle Kopko, Chryl Laird, Emily Lynch, Steve Nawara, Lauren Ratliff, Josh Wu and Team F.Y.C. You have made my time in Columbus more productive, more meaningful and more fun. Before arriving at Ohio State, I was blessed to have numerous professors at Millsaps who encouraged me to go to graduate school. Among them I am most grateful to Priscilla Fermon, Carloee Larson, Julian Murchison and Ming Tsui. Likewise, from my time at the University of Georgia, I wish to acknowledge my thesis advisor Paul-Henri Gurian and committee members Damon Cann and Jamie Carson. My colleagues Wendy Gross and Ellen Key have also been helpful, and it has been wonderful to see you at conferences. Thank you all. Finally, I wish to thank personal friends. Specifically, I acknowledge Drew Harmon, Matthew “Bobby” Kilgore, Matthew Luter and Lindsay Rosenblatt. Thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement. To all whose names do not appear in these acknowledgements, I sincerely thank you. vii VITA 1982………………………………………...Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana 2000………………………………………...Diploma, Saint Louis Catholic High School (Lake Charles, Louisiana) 2004………………………………………...B.A., Sociology, Magna Cum Laude, Millsaps College (Jackson, Mississippi) 2007…………………………………………M.A., Political Science, University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia) 2007 to present ..............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) 2009………………………………………...M.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) 2012…………………………………………Instructional Assistant Professor, University of Houston (Houston, Texas) viii Publications 1. Damon M. Cann and Jeffrey Bryan Cole. 2011. “Strategic Campaigning, Closeness, and Voter Mobilization in U.S. Presidential Elections." Electoral Studies 30(2): 344-352. Fields of Study Major Field: Political Science Primary Areas of Interest: American Politics, Political Psychology ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................
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