Early Voting and Voter Turnout

Abstract

How did the adoption of early voting affect voter turnout? If it increased the opportunity to vote for those who usually abstain, the rate of turnout should have increased. Alternatively, if early voting only affected the behavior of those who usually vote, the rate should not have changed much. This study uses the panel data of municipalities in the Lower House elections between 2005 and 2014 to offer some evidence that the number of places for early voting within municipalities is positively associated with the rate of turnout. This finding implies that early voting encouraged those who usually abstain to vote. My analysis also shows strong evidence that the number of polling places on election day has a positive relationship with voter turnout. Combining these findings, I compare the effect of the numbers of polling places for early voting and on election day.