Restrictive Election Law and Its Impact on Voter Turnout

• Alexa Webber, Political Science, University of Delaware

• Jason Mycoff, Political Science, University of Delaware

United States election laws vary significantly by state because individual states are responsible for administering their own elections. This variation has led to widespread and politically charged debates regarding the appropriate restrictiveness of election administration laws. Proponents of restrictive election laws argue that they are necessary to protect the integrity of elections, while opponents contend that they do little more than unfairly disenfranchise voters and depress turnout, especially among racial minorities. Historically, racial minorities have faced systemic discrimination at the polls, as evidenced by Jim Crow-era practices. This project aims to test whether or not it is the case that, in today’s election environment, more restrictive election administration laws decrease voter turnout among racial minorities. Utilizing individual-level data from the 2024 Cooperative Election Study (CES) representing the entire U.S. adult population, as well as data measuring the Cost of Voting Index (COVI) for each of the fifty states, a logistic regression analysis is conducted to determine whether or not there is a causal relationship between being a voter in a state with more restrictive laws and a lower likelihood of voting. Multiple comparative regression models are performed to analyze the impact on the turnout of White voters, Black voters, and Hispanic voters, in order to evaluate whether the effects of election administration laws have a disparate impact. The findings from this most recent general election can be used to understand voter behavior generally, in today’s context, and to provide concrete evidence to inform the highly contentious debate surrounding the effects of restrictive election laws.