Does State Online Voter Registration Increase Voter Turnout?*

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study is to examine the impact of U.S. state online registration reforms on voter turnout. More states have been adopting online voter registration in recent years. Investigating the impact of the policy on voter turnout can inform policy making and contribute to our knowledge of political behavior. Methods The methods of this study include difference‐in‐difference analysis and instrumental variable analysis. Using the Current Population Survey data between 2000 and 2014, I conduct a difference‐in‐difference analysis at the state level and then an instrumental variable analysis at the individual level. Results The results of this study demonstrate that state online voter registration increases voter turnout. The difference‐in‐difference analysis shows that the states’ implementation of online voter registration increases the turnout of young voters by about 3 percentage points in presidential election years. The instrumental variable analysis shows that the usage of online registration by voters increases their turnout by about 18 to 20 percentage points. Conclusion The conclusion of this study is that state online voter registration reforms are generally effective in increasing voter turnout. There are nontrivial positive effects of online registration on turnout, especially for young people during presidential election years.

The Impact of the “Belt and Road” Initiative on Accounting Conservatism of Energy‐Intensive Enterprises under the Low‐Carbon Background

“…The IVs must meet the following conditions: the selected instrumental variables must be exogenous variables, and the instrumental variables must be directly related to the explanatory variables, but do not directly affect the explained variables. Following Duranton et al, Agrawal et al, and Yu, we use the ancient “Silk Road” provinces (Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang) as the IV because BRI is based on the ancient “Silk Road” [ 40 – 42 ]. This variable and the explanatory variables are directly related, but the ancient “Silk Road” and the accounting conservatism of modern enterprises are not directly related, so the ancient “Silk Road” satisfies the selection conditions of instrumental variables.…”

“…e IVs must meet the following conditions: the selected instrumental variables must be exogenous variables, and the instrumental variables must be directly related to the explanatory variables, but do not directly affect the explained variables. Following Duranton et al, Agrawal et al, and Yu, we use the ancient "Silk Road" provinces (Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Xinjiang) as the IV because BRI is based on the ancient "Silk Road" [40][41][42].…”

Finding DORI: Using Item Response Theory to Measure Difficulty of Registration in the U.S. and Its Impact on Voters

“…OVR is a popular mode of registration because it makes registration accessible on laptops or mobile devices, and it decreases administrative costs to the states (Hicks et al, 2016). OVR is associated with increased turnout especially among young voters (Yu, 2019).…”

“…Second, it must shape the steps that individual voters must take to fully register, and not govern how organizations or political parties that may seek to register voters. 1 Although these dimensions do not capture all possible voter registration laws, scholars focus on these dimensions above all others in determining how difficult it is for an eligible individual to register to vote (Leighley & Nagler, 2014; Holbein & Hillygus, 2016; Fowler, 2017; Yu, 2019). Below, we define each dimension and summarize its importance for shaping registration costs for individual voters.…”

The Stubborn Unresponsiveness of Youth Voter Turnout to Civic Education: Quasi-experimental Evidence from State-Mandated Civics Tests

“…When it comes to improving youth voter turnout then, more direct interventions, including voting information interventions that aim to increase voters' understanding of the voting process (Bennion & Nickerson, 2016;Bergan et al, 2021;Gill et al, 2018) and/or electoral-level policy interventions-such as preregistration (Holbein & Hillygus, 2016), same day registration (Grumbach & Hill, 2022), and online registration (Yu, 2019)-might be far more effective. On the other hand, a broader curriculum targeting adolescents' non-cognitive skills-such as grit and task perseverance, which helps youth convert political motivation into actual participation (Holbein & Hillygus, 2020)-or other key psychosocial skills promoted by some high-achieving charter schools (Cohodes & Feigenbaum, 2021;McEachin et al, 2020) are also beginning to show promise.…”