The Site Gap

Racial Inequalities in Early Voting Access

Bibliographic Data

ID6180192
AuthorsElliott Fullmer (0000-0002-5162-1080, Randolph–Macon College, corresponding author), Elliott B Fullmer
Year2015
Volume43
Issue2
Pages283-303
Publication date2015-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Politics Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1532-673X • E-ISSN: 1552-3373
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1532673x14546987
OpenAlexW1964752460
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited11

In both 2008 and 2012, about one third of the American electorate cast their votes early. While early voting programs are established by states, counties have considerable discretion with regard to implementing them. While some counties offer only a single early voting site, others offer dozens. Previous research suggests that site density may affect the degree to which programs increase turnout. I use county-level data from the 2008 and 2012 elections to measure whether a county’s racial and ethnic composition predicts high (or low) levels of site density. Applying county-level data from the Election Assistance Commission and American Community Survey, I find that the percentage of a county identifying as Black has a significantly negative association with early voting site density. This relationship persists when numerous demographic covariates are included in ordinary least squares models. These site disparities suggest that early voting may not be achieving its full potential in heavily African American communities

African american · Commission · Demographic economics · Discretion · Econometrics · Economics · Ethnic group · Geography · Ordinary least squares · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Statistics · Survey data collection · Turnout · Voter turnout · Voting · Voting behavior · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Public Administration

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