Building Inclusive Elections by Toby S James & Holly Ann Garnett

Author:Toby S James & Holly Ann Garnett [James, Toby S & Garnett, Holly Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367509507
Google: 5NRlzQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 52577645
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

Implementing voter ID: lessons from Missouri, USA

Joseph Anthony and David C. Kimball

ABSTRACT

Many states have adopted laws requiring voters to present photo identification on Election Day. How are these laws implemented in a highly decentralized system of election administration? We report on a study of photo ID implementation in Missouri, focusing on the number of voters who check in at a polling place without photo identification during local and special elections held under the new law. These elections serve as early tests of the photo ID law and offer support for some hypotheses derived from implementation theory. We find evidence of uneven implementation of the photo ID requirement in Missouri. Local jurisdictions using electronic poll books checked in a much larger volume of voters without photo ID than jurisdictions using traditional paper poll books. Interviews with local officials suggest that voter and poll worker behaviour contribute to this pattern. Furthermore, other features, particularly jurisdiction size and the administrative and partisan structure of local officials, are associated with the number of voters who check in without photo identification. Therefore, the use of electronic poll books might overstate the number of voters lacking photo identification. In a decentralized system of election administration, it can be challenging to uniformly implement new voting requirements.

Many American states have adopted laws requiring people to present photo identification when they vote. How are these laws implemented in a highly decentralized system of election administration? This study examines initial implementation of a new photo identification (ID) requirement for voters in Missouri. In 2017 and 2018, the photo ID law was enforced in over 200 municipal, special and primary elections administered by local jurisdictions around the state. In this study we examine data on the number of voters who were checked in at polling places without photo identification as an indicator of how the law was implemented in local jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions may have gone to great lengths to educate voters about the new law, thereby helping voters comply with the law and cast a regular ballot. Other jurisdictions may have strictly enforced the law without providing much additional assistance to voters. We use implementation theory to test whether features of local election administration are associated with higher rates of voters checking in without photo ID.

We find evidence that the photo ID requirement was not enforced uniformly across Missouri jurisdictions in 2017 and 2018 elections. For example, we observe higher rates of voters who checked in without photo ID in more populous jurisdictions and especially in jurisdictions using electronic poll books. The learned behaviour of some poll workers and voters suggest that the numbers reported by local jurisdictions may overstate the number of voters lacking photo identification in places using electronic poll books. We also find fewer voters checking in without photo identification in urban jurisdictions with bipartisan appointed administrators than in jurisdictions with elected partisan administrators. This study highlights uneven implementation of voter eligibility rules in a decentralized system of election administration. Even clearly written laws like the Missouri voter identification requirement may not be implemented uniformly by local jurisdictions.

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