Early or convenience voting—understood in this context to be relaxed
administrative rules and procedures by which citizens can cast a
ballot at a time and place other than the precinct on Election
Day—is a popular candidate for election reformers. Typically,
reformers argue that maximization of turnout is a primary goal, and
reducing barriers between voters and the polls is an important
method for achieving higher turnout. Arguments in favor of voting by
mail, early in-person voting, and relaxed absentee requirements
share this characteristic. While there are good theoretical reasons,
drawn primarily from the rational choice tradition, to believe that
early voting reforms should increase turnout, the empirical
literature has found decidedly mixed results. While one prominent
study suggests that voting by mail is associated with a 10% increase
in turnout, other studies find smaller—but still statistically
significant—increases in turnout associated with other convenience
voting methods.This work is supported
by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the AEI/Brookings
Election Reform Project, and the Charles McKinley Fund of Reed
College. Thanks to Caroline Tolbert and Daniel Smith for sharing
data with us, and to David Magleby for comments on an earlier
version of this paper. All responsibility for interpretations
lay with the authors.