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The 1992 presidential election featured nine states and the District of Columbia with effective motor voter laws on the books. In 1996 all states will be required to have similar motor voter procedures. We conduct a multivariate analysis to compare turnout differences, partisan behavior, and registration levels in motor voter and non-motor voter states. We find that rates of voter registration and turnout are significantly higher in motor voter states than in other states. In addition, it appears that these newly registered voters are just as likely to vote as other registered voters. We find no significant partisan advantage for either party in motor voter states.Compared to other industrialized democracies, the United States has voting turnout rates that are extraordinarily low. The average voter turnout in 20 other Western democracies is 80% or more.' In the United States, national turnout barely exceeds 50% in presidential election years, and in nonpresidential election years, turnout is much less. Americans do seem to have an inclination to vote once registered, although registration rates are quite low. During the 1980s, only between 60% and 63% of the eligible population registered to vote (Piven and Cloward 1990). However, about 85% of those who were registered voted (Wolfinger 1991).In this article we examine questions concerning both structural and policy bias related to voter registration requirements. Specifically, we estimate the partisan and structural effects of the recently passed National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), better known as the &dquo;motor voter&dquo; law. The NVRA requires automatic voter registration at state motor vehicle departments when drivers either renew or initially apply for a driver's license. Other significant provisions of the federal motor

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In the interest of developing a combination of teaching techniques designed to maximize efficiency and quality of instruction, we have experimentally tested three separate and relatively common teaching techniques in three large introductory political science classes at a large urban public university. Our results indicate that the (short-answer) skeleton essay approach in large classes does not provide any significant benefit over full writing assignments or even a lack of writing assignments. Essay and multiple-choice testing techniques produce similar results, though both types of testing have their strengths and weaknesses. We conclude that using a blend of the two testing techniques may be the best approach.