Encouraging Local Compliance with Federal Civil Rights Laws
Field Experiments with the National Voter Registration Act
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6358836 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Douglas R He (0000-0002-9303-9451, Grinnell College), Douglas R Hess (Grinnell College), Michael J Hanmer (0000-0002-7534-7178, University of Maryland), David W Nickerson (0000-0001-6383-9418, Temple University) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 165-174 |
| Publication date | 2015-10-25 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Public Administration Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-3352 • E-ISSN: 1540-6210 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/puar.12473 |
| OpenAlex | W2172317697 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 22 |
Can state officials increase local officials’ compliance with an important federal civil rights law with subtle interventions? The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires voter registration services at certain government agencies, but many counties fail to comply with the act. Working with officials in two states, the authors conducted field experiments to determine whether two methods commonly used by state officials increase compliance with the NVRA. Findings show that although the effects of the methods on output were sizable relative to recent performance, agency performance remained poor overall, with many offices continuing their history of registering no voters. The authors also discovered that gains in performance were largest for the offices that had performed best in the past. These findings suggest that while subtle interventions by state officials can produce increased compliance, stronger tactics may be needed to secure implementation of this federal law by local government agents
Administrative law · Agency (philosophy · Business · Compliance (psychology · Federal law · Government (linguistics · Legislation · Local government · Political science · Politics · Psychological intervention · Sociology · State (computer science · Voter registration · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
Systematically Reviewing American Law and Public Administration
A Systematic Review of Field Experiments in Public Administration
Improving Causal Claims in Public Policy through Randomized Designs in the Field
What We Know and Don't Know About Eligible and Registered Voters in the United States
Access Denied? Investigating Voter Registration Rejections in Florida
What Is Behavioral Public Administration Good for
Generating Usable Knowledge through an Experimental Approach to Public Administration
The Behavioral Public Administration Movement
Racial Discrimination and Street‐Level Managers
Who Is Left Out? The Process of Validating Voter Registration Applications
If you ask, they will come (to register and vote)
Discount Voting
Street-Level Bureaucracy
Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination
The Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy
Implementation of Civil Rights Policy
Establishing the Rules of the Game
Behavioral Assumptions of Policy Tools
Are Voters Better Represented
Getting on the Rolls
Does Training Matter? Evidence from Performance Management Reforms
Does Electoral Reform Increase (or Decrease) Political Equality
Scalable Protocols Offer Efficient Design for Field Experiments
Synthesizing the Implementation Literature
Congressional Oversight Overlooked
Walking the Talk? What Employers Say Versus What They Do
Housing Discrimination in Metropolitan America
Legal Ambiguity and Symbolic Structures
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Highly cited | No |