In the US, there is wide variation from state to state in the institutional arrangements - for example, registration laws - that structure the environment in which citizens decide whether to vote and parties decide whom to mobilize. This has important consequences for who gets elected and the policies they enact. In this 2009 book Michael Hanmer argues that to understand how these institutional arrangements affect outcomes, it is necessary to consider the interactions between social and political context and these laws. He tests this theory by examining how the factors that influence the adoption of a set of registration laws affect turnout, the composition of the electorate, and party strategies. His multi-method research design demonstrates that the effect of registration laws is not as profound as either reformers would hope or previous studies suggest, especially when reform is a response to federal legislation. He concludes by arguing for a shift in the approach to increasing turnout.
• A novel perspective on why registration reforms have worked in some places but not in others • A multi-method approach that includes the analysis of survey data, aggregate data, legislative histories produced through archival research, and interviews with election officials and party leaders • Research design can be adopted to study other election reforms
Contents
Introduction; 1. Motivation and a new theoretical framework; 2. The purposeful adoption of election day registration; 3. Election day registration by choice and by federal mandate; 4. Motor voter by choice and by federal mandate; 5. Registration and voting in the post NVRA era; 6. Election reform and the composition of the electorate; 7. EDR on the ground and prospects for the future; Appendices.
Review
Review of the hardback: 'There is much to recommend this book. Michael Hanmer has made a significant substantive and methodological contribution to the study of voting systems and electoral reform. Incorporating both substantive and methodological insights, he has carefully crafted a strong argument for considering the endogeneity of electoral reform's impact and how the forces that determine adoption of these reforms influence its impact on voter registration and turnout.' Robert M. Stein, Rice University
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