Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T17:51:08.210Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Voter Registration Costs and Disenfranchisement: Experimental Evidence from France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2017

CÉLINE BRACONNIER ,
JEAN-YVES DORMAGEN  and
VINCENT PONS
CÉLINE BRACONNIER*
Affiliation:
Sciences Po Saint-Germain-University of Cergy-Pontoise
JEAN-YVES DORMAGEN*
Affiliation:
Université de Montpellier
VINCENT PONS*
Affiliation:
Harvard Business School
*
Céline Braconnier is Professor, Director of Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 5 rue Pasteur, 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France ([email protected]).
Jean-Yves Dormagen is Professor, Université de Montpellier, Centre d'Etudes Politiques de l'Europe Latine, 39 rue de l'Université, 34000 Montpellier, France ([email protected]).
Vincent Pons is Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School, Soldiers Field, Morgan Hall 289, Boston, MA 02163, United States ([email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A large-scale randomized experiment conducted during the 2012 French presidential and parliamentary elections shows that voter registration requirements have significant effects on turnout, resulting in unequal participation. We assigned 20,500 apartments to one control or six treatment groups that received canvassing visits providing either information about registration or help to register at home. While both types of visits increased registration, home registration visits had a higher impact than information-only visits, indicating that both information costs and administrative barriers impede registration. Home registration did not reduce turnout among those who would have registered anyway. On the contrary, citizens registered due to the visits became more interested in and knowledgeable about the elections as a result of being able to participate in them, and 93% voted at least once in 2012. The results suggest that easing registration requirements could substantially enhance political participation and interest while improving representation of all groups.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 111 , Issue 3 , August 2017 , pp. 584 - 604
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

We are grateful to Daron Acemoglu, Stephen Ansolabehere, Abhijit Banerjee, Adam Berinksy, Esther Duflo, Alan Gerber, Jens Hainmueller, Daniel Hidalgo, Benjamin Olken, Daniel Posner, James Snyder, seminar participants at Yale, MIT, LSE, Stanford GSB, HBS, Bocconi, Warwick, TSE, Crest, UCSD, Northwestern Kellogg, Stockholm IIES, Sciences Po, INSEAD, and conference participants at APSA, EPSA, WPSA, NYU-CESS, and CASP for suggestions that have improved the article. We thank Caroline Le Pennec and Ghislain Gabalda for the outstanding research assistance they provided throughout the entire project and Aude Soubiron for her assistance in the administration of the interventions in the cities surrounding Bordeaux. We thank the town hall administration of each of the ten cities included in the experiment for their generous collaboration and are indebted to all canvassers who administered the interventions, including students from the Ecole Normale Supérieure, the University Cergy-Pontoise, the IEP of Bordeaux and the Université de Montpellier, the NGO of retired workers of the MGEN, the NGO “Tous Citoyens,” the NGO “RAJ-LR,” local units of the Socialist Party in Cergy, Sevran and Carcassonne, and the local unit of the Front de Gauche in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Russell Sage Foundation, MIT France, the Tobin Project, the city of Montpellier, the University of Montpellier 1, and the University of Cergy-Pontoise.

References

REFERENCES

Arceneaux, Kevin, and Nickerson, David W.. 2010. “Comparing Negative and Positive Campaign Messages: Evidence From Two Field Experiments.” American Politics Research 38 (1): 54–83.Google Scholar
Barton, Jared, Castillo, Marco, and Petrie, Ragan. 2014. “What Persuades Voters? A Field Experiment on Political Campaigning.” Economic Journal 124 (574): 293–326.Google Scholar
Bénabou, Roland, and Tirole, Jean. 2006. “Incentives and Prosocial Behavior.” American Economic Review 95 (5): 1652–78.Google Scholar
Bennion, Elizabeth A., and Nickerson, David W.. 2011. “The Cost of Convenience: An Experiment Showing E-Mail Outreach Decreases Voter Registration.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (4): 858–69.Google Scholar
Bennion, Elizabeth A., and Nickerson, David W.. 2016. “I Will Register and Vote If You Teach Me How: A Field Experiment Testing Voter Registration in College Classrooms.” PS: Political Science & Politics 49 (4): 867–71.Google Scholar
Blais, André. 2010. “Political Participation.” Comparing Democracies 3: 165–83.Google Scholar
Braconnier, Celine, and Dormagen, Jean-Yves. 2007. La Démocratie de l’Abstention. Paris: Gallimard.Google Scholar
Braconnier, Celine, Dormagen, Jean-Yves, Gabalda, Ghislain, and Niel, Xavier. 2016. “Sociology of Mis-registration (being registered to vote elsewhere than in current place of residence) in France and Impact on Voter Turnout.” Revue Française de Sociologie 57 (1), English version.Google Scholar
Brady, Henry E., Verba, Sidney, and Schlozman, Kay Lehman. 1995. “Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation.” American Political Science Review 89 (2): 271–94.Google Scholar
Brennan Center for Justice. 2009. Expanding Democracy: Voter Registration Around the World. Accessed February 15, 2017. http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/publications/Expanding.Democracy.pdf.Google Scholar
Brown, Robert D., and Wedeking, Justing. 2006. “People Who Have Their Tickets But Do Not Use Them: Motor Voter, Registration, and Turnout Revisited.” American Politics Research 34 (4): 479–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Citrin, Jack, Schickler, Eric, and Sides, John. 2003. “What of if Everyone Voted? Simulating the Impact of Increased Turnout in Senate Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (1): 75–90.Google Scholar
Converse, Philip E. 1972. Change in the American Electorate. In The Human Meaning of Social Change. New York: Russell Sage, 263–337.Google Scholar
Desposato, Scott. 2016. Introduction. In Ethics and Experiments. Problems and Solutions for Social Scientists and Policy Professionals, ed. Desposato, Scott. New York: Routledge, 1–22.Google Scholar
Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa. 2010. Voter Registration in Africa. A Comparative Analysis. Johannesburg: Global Print.Google Scholar
Enos, Ryan D., Fowler, Anthony, and Vavreck, Lynn. 2014. “Increasing Inequality: The Effect of GOTV Mobilization on the Composition of the Electorate.” Journal of Politics 76 (1): 273–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, Robert S. 1981. “Why Do People Vote? Because They Are Registered.” American Politics Research 9 (3): 259–76.Google Scholar
Findley, Michael, and Nielson, Daniel. 2016. Obligated to Deceive? Aliases, Confederates, and the Common Rule in International Field Experiments. In Ethics and Experiments. Problems and Solutions for Social Scientists and Policy Professionals, ed. Desposato, Scott. New York: Routledge, 151–70.Google Scholar
Fowler, Anthony. 2013. “Electoral and Policy Consequences of Voter Turnout: Evidence from Compulsory Voting in Australia.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 8 (2): 159–82.Google Scholar
Fujiwara, Thomas. 2015. “Voting Technology, Political Responsiveness, and Infant Health: Evidence From Brazil.” Econometrica 83 (2): 423–64.Google Scholar
Fujiwara, Thomas, Meng, Kyle, and Vogl, Tom. 2016. “Habit Formation in Voting: Evidence from Rainy Elections.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 8 (4): 160–88.Google Scholar
Garrigou, Alain. 1992. Le Vote et la Vertu, comment les Français sont Devenus Électeurs. Paris: Presses de Sciences Po.Google Scholar
Gaxie, Daniel. 1978. Le Cens Caché. Inégalités Culturelles et Ségrégation Politique. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar
Gerber, Alan S., and Green, Donald P.. 2000. “The Effects of Canvassing, Telephone Calls, and Direct Mail on Voter Turnout: A Field Experiment.” American Political Science Review 94 (3): 653–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Alan S., and Green, Donald P.. 2015. Get Out the Vote. Washington: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Gerber, Alan S., Green, Donald P., and Shachar, Ron. 2003. “Voting may be Habit-Forming: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (3): 540–50.Google Scholar
Gosnell, Harold Foote. 1930. Why Europe Votes. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Green, Donald P., Gerber, Alan S., and Nickerson, David W.. 2003. “Getting Out the Vote in Local Elections: Results from Six Door-to-Door Canvassing Experiments.” Journal of Politics 65 (4): 1083–96.Google Scholar
Greenwald, Anthony G., Carnot, Catherine G., Beach, Rebecca, and Young, Barbara. 1987. “Increasing Voting Behavior by Asking People if they Expect to Vote.” Journal of Applied Psychology 72 (2): 315–8.Google Scholar
Highton, Benjamin. 1997. “Easy Registration and Voter Turnout.” Journal of Politics 59 (02): 565.Google Scholar
Insee. 2012. Les Inscriptions sur les Listes Électorales 2011. Accessed February 15, 2017. http://archive-fr-2013.com/fr/i/2013-12-15_3342559_60/Insee-Conditions-de-vie-Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9-Les-inscriptions-sur-les-listes-%C3%A9lectorales-2011-Les-inscriptions-sur-les-listes-%C3%A9lectorales-2011/.Google Scholar
Insee Premiere. 2012. L’inscription et la Participation Électorales en 2012. Qui est Inscrit et Qui Vote. Insee Première 1411. Accessed February 15, 2017. https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1281060.Google Scholar
Jackman, Robert W. 1987. “Political Institutions and Voter Turnout in Industrial Democracies.” American Political Science Review 81 (2): 405–24.Google Scholar
Jakee, Keith, and Sun, Guang Zhen. 2006. “Is Compulsory Voting More Democratic?” Public Choice 129 (1–2): 61–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, Peter, MacDonald, Elizabeth, and Sanders, Michael. 2015. “Targeting Voter Registration with Incentives: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Lottery in a London Borough.” Electoral Studies 40: 170–5.Google Scholar
Karlan, Dean, and Zinman, Jonathan. 2009. “Observing Unobservables: Identifying Information Asymmetries with a Consumer Credit Field Experiment.” Econometrica 77 (6): 1993–2008.Google Scholar
Kling, Jeffrey R., Liebman, Jeffrey B., and Katz, Lawrence F.. 2007. “Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects.” Econometrica 75 (1): 83–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knack, Stephen. 1995. “Does Motor Voter Work? Evidence from State-Level Data.” Journal of Politics 57 (3): 796–811.Google Scholar
Knack, Stephen. 2001. “Election-day Registration: The Second Wave.” American Politics Research 29 (1): 65–78.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan. 1991. “Participation as a Stimulus of Political Conceptualization.” Journal of Politics 53 (1): 198–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1997. “Unequal Participation: Democracy’s Unresolved Dilemma.” American Political Science Review 91 (1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Meredith, Marc. 2009. “Persistence in Political Participation.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 4 (3): 187–209.Google Scholar
Nagler, Jonathan. 1991. “The Effect of Registration Laws and Education on US Voter Turnout.” American Political Science Review 85 (4): 1393–405.Google Scholar
Neuman, W. Russell. 1981. “Differentiation and Integration: Two Dimensions of Political Thinking.” American Journal of Sociology 86 (6): 1236–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nickerson, David W. 2006. “Forget Me Not? The Importance of Timing in Voter Mobilization.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott, Loews Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA.Google Scholar
Nickerson, David W. 2007. “Does Email Boost Turnout?” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 2 (4): 369–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nickerson, David W. 2015. “Do Voter Registration Drives Increase Participation? For Whom and When?” Journal of Politics 77 (1): 88–101.Google Scholar
Palfrey, Thomas R., and Poole, Keith T.. 1987. “The Relationship between Information, Ideology, and Voting Behavior.” American Journal of Political Science 31 (3): 511–30.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2012. “Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient: Evidence that America’s Voter Registration System Needs an Upgrade.” (February). Accessed February 15, 2017. http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pewupgradingvoterregistrationpdf.pdf.Google Scholar
Piven, Frances Fox, and Cloward, Richard A.. 1988. Why Americans don’t Vote. New York City: Pantheon.Google Scholar
Pons, Vincent. 2016. “Will a Five-Minute Discussion Change your Mind? A Countrywide Experiment on Voter Choice in France.” Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-079.Google Scholar
Pons, Vincent, and Liegey, Guillaume. 2016. “Increasing the Electoral Participation of Immigrants - Experiment Evidence from France.” Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-094.Google Scholar
Powell, Bingham G. 1986. “American Voter Turnout in Comparative Perspective.” American Political Science Review 80 (1): 17–43.Google Scholar
Robson, William A. 1923. “Compulsory Voting.” Political Science Quarterly 38 (4): 569–77.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven J., and Hansen, John Mark. 1993. Mobilization, Participation and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven J., and Wolfinger, Raymond E.. 1978. “The Effect of Registration Laws on Voter Turnout.” American Political Science Review 72 (1): 22–45.Google Scholar
Rusk, Jerrold G. 1970. “The Effect of the Australian Ballot Reform on Split Ticket Voting: 1876–1908.” American Political Science Review 66 (4): 1220–38.Google Scholar
Ryan, Richard M., and Deci, Edward L.. 2000. “Self-determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-being.” American Psychologist 55 (1): 68.Google Scholar
Selb, Peter, and Lachat, Romain. 2009. “The More, the Better? Counterfactual Evidence on the Effect of Compulsory Voting on the Consistency of Party Choice.” European Journal of Political Research 48 (5): 573–97.Google Scholar
Sénat. 2006. “L’inscription sur les Listes Électorales.” Etude de Législation Comparée 161. Accessed February 15, 2017. https://www.senat.fr/lc/lc161/lc161.pdf.Google Scholar
Timpone, Richard J. 1998. “Structure, Behavior, and Voter Turnout in the United States.” American Political Science Review 92 (1): 145–58.Google Scholar
United States. 1978. The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research. Bethesda, MD: The Commission.Google Scholar
US Census Bureau. 2012. Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2012– Detailed Tables. Table 4a. Reported Voting and Registration, for States: November 2012.Google Scholar
Vonnahme, Greg. 2012. “Registration Deadlines and Turnout in Context.” Political Behavior 34 (4): 765–79.Google Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond E., and Rosenstone, Steven J.. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Zaller, John R. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Braconnier supplementary materials

Online Appendix

Download Braconnier supplementary materials(PDF)
PDF 1.8 MB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.