Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Scholars, members of the media, politicians, pundits, and citizens have voiced much concern over low voter turnout in the United States. To stimulate voter turnout, several states have adopted no excuse absentee and/or early voting policies in hopes of making the act of voting easier. Scholars have found mixed results in their analyses of the demographic and ideological composition of absentee and early voters compared to Election Day voters. While Oliver (1996) argued that absentee voters tended to be more Republican than the general electorate, Stein (1998) found that neither Democrats nor Republicans had a significant partisan advantage. Dubin and Kalsow (1996) maintained that absentee and precinct voting were substitute activities. Previous studies have focused primarily on particular states or relied upon aggregate-level data or pooled individual-level data to generate a large enough sample size for analysis. The current study utilizes two comprehensive national samples that encompass pre-election and post-election data from for two elections: 2000 and 2004. Four questions about these elections are addressed: (1) How often did people vote before Election Day?, (2) Were absentee and early voters different from Election Day voters in demographic composition, party identification, or political interest?, (3) Were absentee or early voters more likely to vote for Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate in 2000 and 2004?, and (4) Did those who voted before Election Day regret voting early?