Out of the 27, 21, 13, 7, and 3 states that offer no-excuse absentee voting, early voting, in-person absentee voting, permanent absentee, and vote-by-mail respectively, New York is not one of them (Desilver). The only form of early voting permitted under Article II Section 2 of the New York State Constitution is absentee voting with excuse, which restricts access to absentee voting based on a set of criteria. Consequently, New York City is in one of the most restrictive states in the nation in terms of early access to voting. In terms of these restrictions impact on voter turnout, the evidence is quite ixed.
Fortunately, solutions such as no-excuse absentee voting, in-person early voting, and vote-by-mail have offered promising results in terms of overall turnout and/or the turnout of historically disenfranchised groups and should be considered by New York State. At the moment, a plurality of states in the U. S. offers no-excuse absentee voting. This version of absentee voting allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot regardless of his or her reason or desire to vote absentee. In New York, voters must offer one of the excuses listed in Figure 1. in order to vote absentee.
These restrictions have been criticized for needlessly limiting early access to voting and making voting less convenient for the average citizen, which is a major reason why groups such as the New York Election Law Committee and the Office of the NYC Comptroller have recommended State Legislature consider instituting no-excuse absentee voting to ease the process for citizens. Theoretically, such legislation would increase turnout numbers by providing more options to people inconvenienced by the current absentee criteria or one-day voting, but evidence has been fairly unsettled.
In 2010 Political Research Quarterly study that examined aggregate turnout levels at the county level, Joseph Giammo and Brain Bronx found that the non-excuse absentee voting gives an initial bump to turnout numbers but then declines by the third election following its implementation. This indicates that despite the absentee ballot being used more frequently, it does not necessarily equate to sustained voter turnout increases on a macro level. On the other hand, studies have shown convenience measures to aid the turnout of historically disenfranchised groups, such as Americans with isabilities.
Political scientists Peter Miller and Sierra Powell in their study reveal that voting procedures like no-excuse absentee voting increase the probability that voters with a disability cast a ballot by mail. This finding is especially significant because people with a disability are much less likely to vote on-site than a person without a disability, despite the access to handicap accessible polling sites. As a result, handicapped New Yorkers who want to have their voices heard may feel discouraged from participating because of the restrictive nature of the current law.
Hence, it is imperative New York pursues no-excuse absentee legislation to ease for all New Yorkers at all levels, though its impact may not show significantly in overall turnout numbers. Another convenience measure New York should and is exploring is in-person person early voting. As previously mentioned, 21 states in the U. S. offer in-person early voting. This policy allows citizens to cast their ballots at a voting location a certain number of days before an election without offering an excuse.
In states where it has been enacted, early voting has proved to be an increasingly popular ode of voting. For instance, despite North Carolina cutting its early-voting days from 17 to 10, it still saw a 34. 7% jump in people who chose to vote early in 2014’s midterm elections. Additionally, Dianna Kasdan’s report for the Brennan Center for Justice outlines early voting’s increasing popularity in presidential elections, displaying its growth in usage by the top nine turnout states that have in-person absentee voting from 8. 4% in 2004 to 14% in 2012.
Unfortunately, similar to no-excuse absentee voting, the impact in-person early voting has on voter turnout is still in question. Generally, it is difficult for researchers to measure early in-person voting’s impact on voter turnout due to the plethora of variables that change from election to election, and from region to region, such polling hours, locations, and days of operation. For example, a 2011 article in the Election Law Journal attributed the polls being open only during business hours on weekdays as a potential factor of stagnant and low early in-person voting usage.
As a result, variables in regional culture and election law can be a potential reason for the mixed studies turnout. One of the notable tudies out now is the same 2010 Political Research Quarterly study by Joseph Giammo and Brain Bronx, which also found that the early voting gives an initial boost to turnout but fails to sustain the increase long-term. This potentially suggests there is a novelty effect of early in-person voting that wears off after introduction or that there were factors impacting the results of the research outside of the study’s scope.
Alternatively, research has shown cutting back on early voting programs disproportionately impacts African American voters. In a 2015 article published in SAGE journals, Russell Weaver concluded hat proposed legislation to restrict early voting would disproportionately raise the cost of voting for African American voters in Ohio who, in one of the counties that were studied, were approximately 26 times more likely than Caucasian Americans to vote early in-person in 2008 and 20 times more likely in 2012.
Consequently, by limiting early voting to avoid financial costs, the cost of voting will rise, especially for minority groups, and potentially harm voter turnout out because of inconvenience. Therefore, despite in-person early voting’s inability to consistently raise turnout on a general level, New York City should considering to trying to ease the cost of voting with early in-person voting for it can peoples who have historically disenfranchised by the system and discouraged from voting. Another convenience measure that should be considered is vote-by-mail.
Out of all of the convenience measures for early voting access, vote-by-mail has shown the most promise in increasing overall voter turnout. In a vote-by- mail system, every registered voter automatically receives a ballot a few weeks before the election that they can fill out and mail it back or drop it off at a designated location. Though Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are the only states to currently have implemented vote-by-mail, each of them has been successful at bringing out voters.
Colorado and Oregon finished 4th and 5th respectively in percentage turnout for the 2014 midterm elections, and Washington finished 2. 6 percentage points above the national average in them. Additionally, in a 2007 article published by the American Political Science Association, the researchers found that voting by mail had a statistically significant positive impact on voter turnout for both presidential and midterm elections, increasing turnout by 4. 7% and 4. % respectively. Legislators can also look abroad for successful vote-by-mail systems.
For instance, researchers of a study published in the Swiss Political Science Review found that between 1970 and 2005 the implementation of postal voting lead to an increase in turnout of approximately 4. 1%. Hence, given the available evidence, New York City should vigorously pursue mail-by-vote for all, to seriously combat its low voter turnout numbers. Overall, we feel it would be prudent for N legislators push for three bills currently being discussed in New York State government. Firstly, Assembly Bill A3874B effectively nsures absentee voting for all by removing the cause for absentee ballot voting.
Secondly, Senate Bill S3813C establishes in-person early voting 8 days prior to an election, ensuring there is weekend access to voting prior to the election. Lastly, the legislature should consider Senate Bill S2739 that would initiate into the feasibility of voting by mail, among other methods. Overall, with these pieces of legislation dealing with early access to voting, New York can take huge steps towards creating a less restrictive voting system that raising voter turnout and encourages historically marginalized groups to vote.
