Voting Laws Impact on Voter Turnout

Sometimes things just don't work according to plan. Many states have tried various attempts to increase voter turnout. Some of the strategies are:  early voting, Election Day registration, and same day registration which allows voters to register and vote the same day, but not on election day.  A study funded in part by the Pew Charitable Trusts and reported in the American Journal of Political Science looked at the impact of these attempts to increase voter turnout. An article by Rich Moran on the Pew site, related that early voting when implemented alone actually negatively impacted voter turnout. He also noted that Election Day registration significantly increased voter turnout. Why should this be true? The researchers said, "it’s because early voting robs “Election Day of its stimulating effects,” reducing social pressure to vote and gives less reason for campaigns to motivate their supporters and get them to the polls." For more detailed analysis see this:  
 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/23/study-early-voting-associated-with-lower-turnout/

They also say that same day registration takes advantage of all the buzz surrounding the event and the social pressure to actually vote. The researchers said it, “eliminates the need to register before the campaign reaches maximum intensity and focuses social and political activity on a single day.  Election Day is abuzz with discussion, media coverage, and last-minute contacts from parties and candidates, factors that can exert a mobilizing impact on a wider group of potential voters in (Election-Day registration) states.” 

So, we can theorize on what encourages people to get out and vote and write laws to increase voter participation. Or, we can do like some states are doing and write laws and implement policies designed to decrease voter participation within certain demographic areas.  Wonder how well that is working out? In looking for the answer to that question, I found an interesting article at The Brennan Center for Justice, "Voting Laws Roundup 2014." Here, we find that ten states have passed 13 laws this year to expand voting rights and three states have passed 5 restrictive laws affecting voting rights.  http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-laws-roundup-2014
 It will be interesting to see if laws designed to decrease voter participation actually achieve that goal.

Pat Taylor Fuller is an Editor for Progressive Democrats - Moving Forward, Not Back, and she has a blogspot named Pat's Commentary http://pageposts1123.blogspot.com/