Making Young Voters: The Impact of Preregistration on Youth Turnout

Recent research has cast doubt on the potential for various electoral reforms to increase voter turnout. In this article, we examine the effectiveness of preregistration laws, which allow young citizens to register before being eligible to vote. We use two empirical approaches to evaluate the impact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of political science 2016-04, Vol.60 (2), p.364-382
Main Authors: Holbein, John B., Hillygus, D. Sunshine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative voting
Birthdays
Citizens
Control groups
Effectiveness
Election laws
Elections
Electoral reform
Implementation
Modeling
Political campaigns
Regression analysis
Voter behavior
Voter registration
Voter turnout
Voting
Youth
Youth participation
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Summary:Recent research has cast doubt on the potential for various electoral reforms to increase voter turnout. In this article, we examine the effectiveness of preregistration laws, which allow young citizens to register before being eligible to vote. We use two empirical approaches to evaluate the impact of preregistration on youth turnout. First, we implement differencein-difference and lag models to bracket the causal effect of preregistration implementation using the 2000–2012 Current Population Survey. Second, focusing on the state of Florida, we leverage a discontinuity based on date of birth to estimate the effect of increased preregistration exposure on the turnout of young registrants. In both approaches, we find preregistration increases voter turnout, with equal effectiveness for various subgroups in the electorate. More broadly, observed patterns suggest that campaign context and supporting institutions may help to determine when and if electoral reforms are effective.
ISSN:0092-5853
1540-5907
DOI:10.1111/ajps.12177