Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vsgnj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T01:28:24.599Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effects of House Bill 1355 on Voter Registration in Florida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Michael C. Herron  and
Daniel A. Smith
Michael C. Herron*
Affiliation:
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
Daniel A. Smith
Affiliation:
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
*
Michael C. Herron, Dartmouth College, 6108 Silsby Hall, Hanover, NH 03755-3547, USA. Email: michael.c.herron@dartmouth.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In mid-2011, the Florida state legislature passed House Bill 1355 (HB 1355) and in so doing placed new regulations on community organizations that historically have helped eligible Floridians register to vote. Among the legal changes promulgated by this bill were new regulations on the operations of groups like the League of Women Voters and a new oath, warning of prison time and fines, that voter registration agents were required to sign. Such changes raised the implicit costs that eligible Florida citizens faced when registering to vote, and we show that voter registrations across the state in the second half of 2011 dropped precipitously compared with registrations in the second half of 2007. This pattern is evident among registrants in general, among registrants age 20 and younger, and among individuals who registered as Democrats. Outside of HB 1355, we know of no credible explanations for these results. Our findings thus show how restrictions on the way that third-party organizations register voters can have tangible effects on actual registrations. Given that registration prior to an election is a civic necessity in Florida and in many other states, such restrictions have the potential to affect electoral outcomes as well.

Keywords

political participationpolitical behaviorelection rulespublic policyelectionsrepresentationvoter registrationFlorida
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 279 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2013

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

Ansolabehere, Stephen, and Hersh, Eitan. 2012. Validation: What Big Data Reveal about Survey Misreporting and the Real Electorate. Unpublished working paper. http://polmeth.wustl.edu/media/Paper/hershpolmeth2012.pdf (accessed April 18, 2013).Google Scholar
Bernstein, Robert A., Chadha, Anita, and Montjoy, Robert. 2003. “Cross-State Bias in Voting and Registration Overreporting in Current Population Surveys.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 3 (4): 367–86..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brians, Craig Leonard, and Grofman, Bernard. 2001. “Election Day Registration's Effect on U.S. Voter Turnout.” Social Science Quarterly 82 (1): 170–83..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burden, Barry C., Canon, David T., Mayer, Kenneth R., and Moynihan, Donald P.. 2011. “Early Voting and Election Day Registration in the Trenches: Local Officials' Perceptions of Election Reform.” Election Law Journal 10 (2): 89–102..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Donald T., and Laurence Ross, H.. 1968. “The Connecticut Crackdown on Speeding: Time-Series Data in Quasi-Experimental Analysis.” Law & Society Review 3 (1): 33–54..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Converse, Philip, and Niemi, Richard. 1971. “Non-voting among Young Adults in the United States.” In Political Parties and Political Behavior. 2nd ed., eds. William J. Crotty, Donald M. Freeman, and Douglas S. Gatlin. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 443–66.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.Google Scholar
Fenster, Mark J. 1994. “The Impact of Allowing Day of Registration Voting on Turnout in U.S. Elections from 1960-1992.” American Politics Research 22 (1): 74–87..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasen, Richard L. 2012. The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Herron, Michael C., and Smith, Daniel A.. 2012. “Souls to the Polls: Early Voting in Florida in the Shadow of House Bill 1355.” Election Law Journal 11 (3): 331–47..Google Scholar
Highton, Benjamin, and Wolfinger, Raymond E.. 1998. “Estimating the Effects of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.” Political Behavior 20 (2): 79–104..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keyssar, Alexander. 2000. The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan E., and Nagler, Jonathan. 1992. “Individual and Systemic Influences on Turnout: Who Votes? 1984.” Journal of Politics 54 (3): 718–40..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minnite, Lorraine. 2012. “Voter Identification Laws: The Controversy over Voter Fraud.” In Law and Election Politics: The Rules of the Game. 2nd ed., ed. Matthew J. Streb. New York: Routledge, 88–133.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team. 2011. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. http://www.R-project.org (accessed April 18, 2013).Google Scholar
Rosenberg, Jennifer, and Chen, Margaret. 2009. “Expanding Democracy: Voter Registration around the World.” Report published by the Brennen Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. http://brennan.3cdn.net/3234b49c4234d92bf3_3km6i2ifu.pdf (accessed April 18, 2013).Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven J., and Wolfinger, Raymond E.. 1978. “The Effect of Registration Laws on Voter Turnout.” American Political Science Review 72 (1): 22–45..CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tokaji, Daniel P. 2008. “Voter Registration and Election Reform.” William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 17:453–506.Google Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond E., and Rosenstone, Steven J.. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar