Who Is Left Out? The Process of Validating Voter Registration Applications: Part of Special Symposium on Election Sciences

In: American politics research, Band 48, Heft 6, S. 682-686

Abstract

Whose voter registration requires further verification and why? And why are some prospective registrants left out from voter records? These questions can uncover challenges in the voter registration process, and potential implementation issues with federal and state law. In this article, I analyze "on hold" voter registration applications processed between November 2007 and September 2008 in Florida's Hillsborough and Miami-Dade Counties. I evaluate why individuals were left out of the voter rolls, by matching their records to snapshots of the counties' voter records from December 2008. I find that "on hold" applicants face persistent challenges in successfully registering to vote, particularly depending on when they attempt to register and what type of information they omit from a voter registration application.