What Date Works Best for You? Changes in Electorate Demographics and Policy Priorities in Concurrent Elections

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6404034
AutoresEddie Lucero (0000-0003-0869-7079, Political Science, Colorado State University, Pueblo, CO, USA), Ricardo Robles (0000-0002-5423-9282, Political Science, UC Merced, Merced, CA, USA), Jessica Trounstine (0000-0003-4364-2719, Political Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA, autor de correspondencia), Jonathan E Collins (0000-0002-7296-1340, Political Science and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA)
Año2025
Volumen61
Número4
Páginas1243-1269
Fecha de publicación2025-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaUrban Affairs Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1078-0874 • E-ISSN: 1552-8332
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10780874241297100
OpenAlexW4405080586
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas35

Research shows that off-cycle local elections witness much lower turnout than elections held concurrently with state or national elections. However, not all concurrent elections are created equal. Local elections can be held concurrently with presidential general elections, congressional midterms, or state and national primaries. We leverage the passage of a California law that forced cities to change their election calendar to understand the ways in which the electorate differs across different types of concurrent elections. Using election returns from the California Data Archive and data from an original survey of 3,000 residents from Los Angeles County, we find that when cities switch to holding elections concurrently with presidential general elections turnout increases, the share of underrepresented groups increases, and the electorate is more likely to prioritize issues important to marginalized groups, but the same is not true for elections held concurrently with midterm elections or primaries

Demographic economics · Demographics · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Public economics · Sociology · Demography · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies