The Administration of Voter Registration: Expanding the Electorate Across and Within the States

183 Pages·2021·3.792 MB·English

by  Thessalia Merivaki

The Administration
of Voter Registration
Expanding the
Electorate Across and
Within the States
Thessalia Merivaki
Elections, Voting, Technology
Series Editor
Kathleen Hale
Department of Political Science
Auburn University
Auburn, AL, USA
This series examines the relationships between people, electoral processes
and technologies, and democracy. Elections are a fundamental aspect of
a free and democratic society and, at their core, they involve a citizenry
making selections for who will represent them. This series examines the
ways in which citizens select their candidates—the voting technologies
used, the rules of the game that govern the process—and considers how
changesinprocessesandtechnologiesaffectthevoterandthedemocratic
process.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14965
Thessalia Merivaki
The Administration
of Voter Registration
Expanding the Electorate Across
and Within the States
Thessalia Merivaki
Department of Political Science
& Public Administration
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS, USA
Elections, Voting, Technology
ISBN 978-3-030-48058-5 ISBN 978-3-030-48059-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48059-2
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Series Editor s Foreword
’
In The Administration of Voter Registration: Expanding the Electorate
Across and Within the States, Thessalia Merivaki illustrates the central
importance of the choices that states make in implementing the voter
registration practices that are elemental to every American election.
Merivaki’s thorough study goes beyond a discussion of the sometimes
idiosyncratic differences in voter registration practices across states and
takes a deep dive into practices that create opportunities for inconsistent
and, in some cases, failed administration. Her timely research helps us
understand when and why implementation fails, and the consequences of
failure for participation across the electorate.
And our understanding of the details and intricacies of implementing
state legislative policy prescriptions has never been more important. As
The Administration of Voter Registration is going to print, every detail
of America’s election system is under historic, unprecedented stress well
beyond the pressures of a presidential election year. An international
pandemic has delayed scheduled primary elections in the name of public
health, not to mention a dearth of poll workers and viable poll locations.
The Democratic Party cancelled its national nominating convention and
instead organized a four-day virtual one. In some states, governors and
legislators clashed about whether to proceed with scheduled in-person
voting or to permit widespread voting by mail. Election officials were
whipsawed by multiple directives to hold elections, issue mail ballots, or
cancel altogether.
v
vi SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD
AsmanyrescheduledprimariesopenedacrossthestatesinlateMayand
early June, the nation was rocked with civil protests prompted by police
actionsthatkilledanunarmedblackman.Curfewswereimposedinmajor
citiesallacrossthecountry,compoundingstateshelter-in-placeordersand
creatingconfusionaboutvotingperiodsthatextendedaftercurfew.Media
speculationcontinuesaboutwhetherthepresidentialelectionwillbeable
to go forward in November 2020. A national initiative to move all states
tovotebymailremainsstalledinCongress,notleastbecauseoftheneed
to rely on voter registration data points such as signature verification in
order to ensure accuracy.
However, change is on the horizon—perhaps toward voting by mail,
perhapstowardadditionalnationalizationofothervoterregistrationprac-
tices. The National Voter Registration Act would seem to set a level
playing field, but Merivaki’s careful research demonstrates that inequities
persistandimposeparticularburdens.TheAdministrationofVoterRegis-
tration showsusthatthedetailsofadministrationmatter,nowmorethan
ever.
Summer 2020 Kathleen Hale
Praise For TheAdministrationof
VoterRegistration
“In The Administration of Voter Registration, Merivaki unpacks one of
the most contentious aspects of the American election system, addressing
processes, rules, behavior, and results in great detail. This is a must-read
for students and scholars, advocates, reporters, and policy makers inter-
ested in truly understanding the nuance behind this aspect of elections.”
—Mitchell Brown, Professor, Auburn University, USA
“Registering to vote is, as Merivaki points out, a ‘highly complex and
error-prone’process.Merivakiskillfullynavigatesmultiplelayersandlevels
of government—and data—to provide a clearer portrait of the strengths
andweaknessesofthesystem.Policymakersshouldtakeherresearchseri-
ously when generating ideas to improve elections all over the United
States.Shedemonstratesavastknowledgeofthevoterregistrationsystem
in the United States and chooses examples to analyze carefully. Scholars,
policymakers,andelectionofficialsalikecanlearnimportantdetailsabout
the registration process from her careful analysis. Merivaki is a rising star
in the study of Election Science and in the study of voter registration
more generally. She has made an important contribution to maintaining
and increasing Americans’ right to cast a ballot. She clearly shows that
not just the rules about voter registration matter, but also how election
officials administer those rules.”
—Martha Kropf, Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
USA
vii
viii PRAISE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF VOTER REGISTRATION
“With original data and fresh insights, Merivaki offers academics—and
moreimportantly,practitionersandelectionadministrators—aframework
of collaborative governance to help us better understand the uneven
dynamics and lack of uniformity in voter registration efforts across the
American states. Due to institutional barriers and a lack of federal over-
sight the past two decades, many eligible citizens are not registered to
vote, raising serious questions about the access and equity of the fran-
chise in the United States. Merivaki makes a convincing case that though
states have adopted multiple reforms to register voters—including online
voter registration, automatic voter registration, and even Election Day
registration—without partnerships with non-governmental actors, many
states (and local jurisdictions) are unable to keep pace with the demands
of registering eligible voters. Scholars, policy advocates, and election
administrations all will benefit from Merivaki’s timely research.”
—Daniel A. Smith, Professor & Chair, University of Florida, USA
Contents
1 Election Reform and Voter Registration 1
1.1 Can Dead Cats Register to Vote? 1
1.2 The Success and Challenges of Voter Registration
Reforms 5
1.3 Beyond NVRA Compliance: A Collaborative
Governance Framework for the Administration
of Voter Registration 8
1.4 The Dense Infrastructure of Voter Registration
in the United States: Who Is Accountable, and Who Is
Left Out? 13
1.5 The Administrative Response to the Institutional
Supply of Voter Registration 15
1.6 Outline of Chapters 20
References 22
2 Gaps in Voter Registration: Ongoing Pressures
to Expand the Electorate 27
2.1 How Many Should Be Registered to Vote? 28
2.2 Why Don’t Americans Register to Vote? 30
2.3 How Many Americans Can We Register to Vote? The
Voter Registration Gap 37
2.4 The Voter Registration Gap Up Close: Uncovering
the Variation at the Local Level 44
ix