Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T00:07:12.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Access Denied? Investigating Voter Registration Rejections in Florida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Thessalia Merivaki Open the ORCID record for Thessalia Merivaki [Opens in a new window]
Thessalia Merivaki*
Affiliation:
Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA
*
Thessalia Merivaki, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box PC, 105 Bowen Hall, Starkville, MS 39762, USA. Email: lia.merivaki@pspa.msstate.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During every election cycle, election administrators validate voter registration applications submitted at different times and through various sources, with a notable peak in the demand for voter registration as Election Day approaches. The process of registering to vote, however, is error-prone and may depend on the voter's capacity to fill a form correctly, or the election administrator's capacity to successfully process applications as the voter registration window closes. Such errors can limit a prospective, and eligible, voter's ability to cast a valid ballot. This study assesses the impact of time and registration source on the rates of rejected voter registration applications by analyzing monthly county-level voter registration reports during the 2012 election cycle in Florida. I find that there is a dynamic relationship between administrative and seasonal factors at the county level, which condition the rates of rejected voter registrations as the registration deadline approaches. These findings suggest complications in not only the process of registering to vote that may stem from differences in voter engagement but also the variation in administrative oversight throughout the election cycle.

Keywords

voter registrationNVRAelection reformelection administrationlocal election officials
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 53 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez, R. Michael, Atkeson, Lonna R., and Hall, Thad E.. 2012. Evaluating Elections: A Handbook of Methods and Standards. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ansolabehere, Stephen, and Hersh, Eitan. 2014. “Voter Registration: The Process and Quality of Lists.” In The Measure of American Elections, eds. Burden, Barry C., and Charles Stewart, III. New York: Cambridge University Press, 61–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowser, Jennie, Frederick, Susan, and Underhill, Wendy. 2012. “Voter List Maintenance: Why, How and When.” The Canvass: States and Election Reform 32:1–6.Google Scholar
Burden, Barry C., Canon, David T., Mayer, Kenneth R., and Moynihan, Donald P.. 2012. “The Effect of Administrative Burden on Bureaucratic Perception of Policies: Evidence from election administration.” Public Administration Review 72 (5): 741–751.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burden, Barry C., Canon, David T., Mayer, Kenneth R., and Moynihan, Donald P.. 2014. “Election Laws, Mobilization, and Turnout: The Unanticipated Consequences of Election Reform.” American Journal of Political Science 58 (1): 95–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caputo, Mark. 2016. “Dead Cat at Heart of Florida Election Controversy.” Politico, January 4..Google Scholar
Election Assistance Commission. 2013. “The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office 2009-2010.” Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Electionline.org. 2006. “Election Reform: What's Changed, What Hasn't and Why; 2000-2006.”Google Scholar
Hale, Kathleen, and Slaton, Christa Daryl. 2008. “Building Capacity in Election Administration: Local Responses to Complexity and Interdependence.” Public Administration Review 68 (5): 839–849.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanmer, Michael J. 2009. Discount Voting: Voter Registration Reforms and Their Effects. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasen, Rick. 2005. “Beyond the Margin of Litigation: Reforming U.S. Election Administration to Avoid Electoral Meltdown.” Washington & Lee Law Review 62:937–999.Google Scholar
Herron, Michael C., and Smith, Daniel A.. 2013. “The Effects of House Bill 1355 on Voter Registration in Florida.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 13 (3): 279–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, Douglas R., Hanmer, Michael J., and Nickerson, David W.. 2016. “Encouraging Local Compliance with Federal Civil Rights Laws: Field Experiments with the National Voter Registration Act.” Public Administration Review 76 (1): 165–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, Douglas R., and Novakowski, Scott. 2008. “Neglecting the National Voter Registration Act, 1995-2007.” A Joint Publication of Project Vote and Demos, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Joyce, Ryan. 2009. “ACORN and the 2008 Presidential Election Campaign: Perspectives on Alleged Third-Party Voter-Registration Fraud.” University of Pittsburgh Law Review 17:313–333.Google Scholar
Kasdan, Diana. 2012. State Restrictions on Voter Registration Drives. Brennan Center for Justice. New York University School of Law.Google Scholar
Kennedy, Peter. 2008. A Guide to Econometrics. 6th ed. Wiley Blackwell: Malden, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Kimball, David C., and Baybeck, Brady. 2013. “Are All Jurisdictions Equal? Size Disparity in Election Administration.” Election Law Journal 12 (2): 130–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kimball, David C., Kropf, Martha, and Battles, Lindsay. 2006. “Helping America Vote? Election Administration, Partisanship, and Provisional Voting in the 2004 Election.” Election Law Journal 5 (4): 447–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kropf, Martha, Vercellotti, Timothy, and Kimball, David C.. 2013. “Representative Bureaucracy and Partisanship: The Implementation of Election Law.” Public Administration Review 73(2): 242–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LeRoux, Kelly. 2011. “Examining Implementation of the National Voter Registration Act by Nonprofit Organizations: An Institutional Explanation.” Policy Studies Journal 39 (4): 565–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipsky, Michael. 1980. Street Level Bureaucrats. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Merivaki, Thessalia, and Smith, Daniel A.. 2016. “Casting and Verifying Provisional Ballots in Florida.” Social Science Quarterly 97 (3): 729–747.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mortellaro, Stephen, and Cohen, Michelle Kanter. 2014. “Restricting Voter Registration Drives.” Policy Paper for Project Vote. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Naifeh, Stuart. 2015. “Driving the Vote: Are States Complying with the Motor Voter Requirements of the National Voter Registration Act?” Demos Report 1–46.Google Scholar
Nicholson-Crotty, Sean, and Meier, Kenneth J.. 2002. “Size Doesn't Matter: In Defense of Single-State Studies.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 2 (4): 411–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pew Center on the States. 2013. Elections Performance Index Methodology 1–67.Google Scholar
Piven, Frances Fox, Minnite, Lorraine C., and Groarke, Margaret. 2009. Keeping down the Black Vote: Race and Demobilization of American Voters. New York: The New Press.Google Scholar
Shaw, Daron, and Hutchings, Vincent. 2013. “Report on Provisional Ballots and American Elections.” Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project Working Paper #115. Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Tokaji, Daniel P. 2008. “Voter Registration and Election Reform.” William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 17:453–506.Google Scholar
Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. 2009. Introduction to Econometrics: A Modern Approach. 4th ed. South-Western Cengage Learning: Mason, Ohio.Google Scholar