Can Election Administration Overcome the Effects of Restrictive State Voting Laws?

Abstract

Since the 2020 election, hundreds of bills have been introduced to state legislatures with new voting restrictions, while many states have made voting more accessible. Undergirding the operation of these laws are a set of rules, procedures, technologies, and local election officials that shape the voting process across the U.S. (Alvarez et al. 2013, 31). Despite evidence documenting election administration matters, little research has investigated the combined impact of multiple state election laws and election administration capacity, using two comprehensive nationwide indices, on voter behavior. Employing administrative data with vote histories from a national voter file over time (2012 to 2020 presidential elections), we test the effects of both election administration and election laws. Applying statistical matching, we find more restrictive state election laws reduce voter turnout, while more election administration capacity has a mixed effect on turnout. Despite a low correlation, these two factors can interact, with quality state election administration partially offsetting the negative effects of restrictive voting laws. The interaction effect is stronger in 2012 and 2020. Academics and policy makers need to consider election administration in models of voter turnout.