| Last week, the first statewide Texas study on Early voting patterns and early voters was released. The report by the Austin Community College Center for Public Policy and Political Studies is the culmination of a year of work by ACC Prof. Stefan Haag. Below are some highlights and findings, as well as the full report with maps which is below the fold.
Summary Of major Findings of Study of Early Voting in Texas: What are the Effects?
Early voting has been used in Texas since 1988. The procedures were significantly modified in 1991. This study covers the entire period but it focuses on the elections from 2002 to 2008.
It is the studies general findings that Early Voting has not increased voter turnout significantly. However If early voting is extended over a long period turnout does increase. Further the more convenient the early voting sites are the greater the impact on early voter turnout. Early voters are generally strong partisans, ideological, older, female voter who are interested in politics.
Early Vote has represented a steadily increasing percentage of the total vote in gubernatorial elections:
• 1998 EV was 28.1% of the total vote
• 2002 EV was 36.1% of the total vote
• 2006 EV was 39.3% of the total vote
One of the most interesting questions this study answers is how do early voters in Texas Gubernatorial Elections compare to Election Day voters?
• They are older than Election-Day voters.
• They are more likely to be Anglo than Asian American, African American (except for 2002), or Hispanic
• They are more likely to be female than male.
• They are more likely to have voted in the primary election than Election-Day
voters.
There are two other major points about Texas Early Voters
• Early voters and Election-Day voters are equally as likely to vote a straight ticket.
• Early voting has created two constituencies for campaigns:
- Voters who decide and vote early
- Voters who decide and vote on Election-Day
The final and most interesting question this study answered was when during the Early Voting cycles are ballots actually cast? First there is no question that there are variations by county and by type of county from Rural to suburban to Metropolitan.
In the 2006 Gubernatorial election this was the pattern.
o 12.5% voted during the first 2 days of EV
o 30.6 % voted during the last 2 days of EV
o 57.3% voted during the last 5 days of EV
More information is included in the full report. |
