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Select Media

Op-Eds

New York Times: Why Does No One Vote in Local Elections (Hajnal 2018) 

 

New York Times: Better Government In New York Depends on Higher Turnout (2023) 

 

Washington Post: Fewer People Are Expected to Vote in This Year’s Off-Cycle Elections (Hajnal, Kogan, and Markarian 2023)

 

Los Angeles Times: Ferguson – No Peace Without Representation (Hajnal 2014)

 

Washington Post: Where does America’s lower turnout matter most? In Local Elections (Hajnal and Trounstine 2015) 

National News

The Atlantic: Americans Vote to Much (Demsas 2023)

 

New York Times: Does America Vote too Much (2022)

Podcasts/Videos

Analysis and Reports

For Summaries of the Topic

The Foundation for Government Accountability

Off Cycle, Out of Mind: Why School Board Elections Should Be Held With Statewide Elections Bain and Ingram (2022)

For National Analysis

The Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research: Big Cities – Tiny Votes? America’s Urban Voter Turnout Hajnal and Green (2024)

 

Sightline Institute: The Bizarre Red-Blue Politics of Election Consolidation (Durning 2024) 

 

The Brookings Institute: It’s time to eliminate ‘off-cycle’ school board elections

Hartney (2016)

 

The Brookings Institute: Test scores and school boards: Why election timing matters Payson (2017)

 

New America: What’s the Point of Off-year Elections? (Cain 2021)

 

American Enterprise Institute: Move School Board Elections On-Cycle to Restore Local Control (Eden 2021)

 

The Foundation for Government Accountability: Off Cycle, Out of Mind: Why School Board Elections Should Be Held With Statewide Elections Bain and Ingram (2022)

 

Manhattan Institute: Declining Turnout in Big-City Elections: A Growing Problem for Democratic Accountability (Hopkins 2021)

 

America First Policy Institute: On-Cycle School Board Elections Make It Easier to Vote (Blackwell 2021)

 

National Civic League:  Increasing Voter Turnout in Loca Elections (Brennan 2020)

 

US Vote Foundation: Fixing the Problem of Low Turnout Elections (2017)

For Local and Statewide Elections

Washington

Sightline Institute: The History of Washington’s Wandering Election Day (Durning 2024)

 

Sightline Institute: A Magic Boost for Low-Turnout City Elections (Grimes 2024)

 

Sightline Institute: Washingtonians May Get a Democracy Upgrade in 2024 (Grimes 2024)

 

Sightline Institute: In Every Washington City, Odd-Year Elections Crush Voter Turnout

(Durning 2023)

 

Sightline Institute: Idaho, Montana, and Washington Could Save $30 Million by Moving Local Elections to National Election Day (Durning 2023) 

Texas

Yankelovich: Assessing Prop D and the Move to November Elections in Dallas

[In Progress]

Illinois

Illinois Policy Institute: How Chicago’s election timing suppresses voting (Alexander, Berg, and Josko 2024)

Other Cities and States

Americans for Prosperity: Why Alaskans have Lower Turnout (2023) 

 

Report of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on intergovernmental relations: Timing of Municipal Elections in Tennessee: Continue to Authorize, Not Require, Election Consolidation (2019)

Academic Studies

Allen, A. and D. N. Plank (2005). "School Board Election Structure and Democratic Representation." Educational Policy 19(3): 510-527.

Anzia, S. (2014). Timing and Turnout: How Off-Cycle Elections Favor Organized Groups. New York, Cambridge.

Anzia, S. (2012). "The Election Timing Effect: Evidence from a Policy Intervention in Texas." Quarterly Journal of Political Science 7(3): 209-248.

Anzia, S. F. (2011). "Election Timing and the Electoral Influence of Interest Groups." The Journal of Politics 73(2): 412-427.

Anzia, S. and R. Bernhard (2021). "Gender Stereotyping and the Electoral Success of Women Candidates: New Evidence from Local Elections in the United States." British Journal of Political Science.

Augenblick, N. E. D. and S. Nicholson (2016). "Ballot Position, Choice Fatigue, and Voter Behaviour." The Review of Economic Studies 83(2 (295)): 460-480.

de Benedictis-Kessner, J. (2017). "Off-Cycle and Out of Office: Election Timing and the Incumbency Advantage." The Journal of Politics 80(1): 119-132.

Caren, N. (2007). "Big City, Big Turnout? Electoral Participation in American Cities." Journal of Urban Affairs 29(1): 31-46.

Berry, C. R. and J. E. Gersen (2011). "Election Timing and Public Policy." Quarterly Journal of Political Science 6(2): 103-135.

Bowler, T. D., Trudi Happ (1992). "Ballot Propositions and Information Costs: Direct Democracy and the Fatigued Voter." Political Research Quarterly 45(2): 559-570.

Collins, J., Lucero, E., & Trounstine, J. (2020). "Will Concurrent Elections Reshape the Electorate?" California Journal of Politics and Policy 12(1).

Dynes, A. M., et al. (2021). "Off-Cycle and Off Center: Election Timing and Representation in Municipal Government." American Political Science Review 115(3): 1097-1103.

Einstein, K., et al. (2024). "The Gray Vote: How Older Home-Owning Voters Dominate Local Elections.".

Einstein, K., et al. (2018). "Who Participates in Local Government? Evidence from Meeting Minutes." Perspectives on Politics.

Gong, H., and Cynthia L. Rogers (2014). "Does Voter Turnout Influence School Bond Elections?" Southern Economic Journal 81(1): 247-262.

Hajnal, Z. (2010). America’s Uneven Democracy: Turnout, Race, and Representation in City Politics. New York, Cambridge University Press.

Hajnal, Z. L., et al. (2002). Municipal Elections in California: Turnout, Timing, and Competition. San Francisco, Public Policy Institute of California.

Hajnal, Z. L., et al. (2021). "Who Votes: City Election Timing and Voter Composition." American Political Science Review: 1-10.

Zoltan Hajnal, Vladimir Kogan, and Agustin Markarian. 2024. Who Wins When: Election Timing and Descriptive Representation. American Journal of Political Science

Hajnal, Z. and J. Trounstine (2005). "Where Turnout Matters: The Consequences of Uneven Turnout in City Politics." Journal of Politics 67(2): 515-535.

Hajnal, Z. L. and P. G. Lewis (2003). "Municipal Institutions and Voter Turnout in Local Elections." Urban Affairs Review 38(5): 645-668.

Hartney, M. T. and S. D. Hayes (2021). "Off-Cycle and Out of Sync: How Election Timing Influences Political Representation." State Politics & Policy Quarterly 21(4): 335-354.

Hess, F. (2002). School Board at the Dawn of the 21st Century, American Enterprise Institute.

Holbrook, T. and A. Weinschenk (2014). "Campaigns, Mobilization, and Turnout in Mayoral Elections." Political Research Quarterly 67(1): 42-55.

Jensen, N. M., et al. (2020). "Electoral Institutions and Electoral Cycles in Investment Incentives: A Field Experiment on Over 3,000 U.S. Municipalities*." American Journal of Political Science 64(4): 807-822.

Jurjevich, J. (2016). Who Votes for Mayor, Portland State University.

Kogan, V., et al. (2018). "Election Timing, Electorate Composition, and Policy Outcomes: Evidence from School Districts." American Journal of Political Science 62(3): 637-651.

Kogan, V. et al. (2021). "The Democratic Deficit in U.S. Education Governance." American Political Science Review.

Kogan, V., et al. (2021). "How Does Minority Political Representation Affect School District Administration and Student Outcomes?" American Journal of Political Science.

Marschall, M. and J. Lappie (2018). "Turnout in Local Elections: Is Timing Really Everything?" Election Law Journal 17(3).

Moe, T. M. (2006). "Political Control and the Power of the Agent." The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 22(1): 1-29.

Munley, V., et al. (2023). "The impact of voter turnout on referendum outcomes: evidence from Ireland." Public Choice 194(3): 369-393.

Ornstein, J. (2019). Election Timing and the Politics of Urban Growth. U. o. Michigan. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/ornstein/wp-content/uploads/sites/157/2018/04/election-timing.pdf.

Payson, J. (2017). "When Are Local Incumbents Held Accountable for Government Performance? Evidence from US School Districts." Legislative Studies Quarterly 42: 421-448.

Schaffner, B. F., et al. (2020). Hometown Inequality: Race, Class, and Representation in American Local Politics. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Streb, M. J. and B. Frederick (2011). "When Money Cannot Encourage Participation: Campaign Spending and Rolloff in Low Visibility Judicial Elections." Political Behavior 33(4): 665-684.

Townley, A. J., et al. (1994). "School Board Elections: A Study of Citizen Voting Patterns." Urban Education 29(1): 50-62.

Trounstine, J. (2012). "Turnout and Incumbency in Local Elections." Urban Affairs Review 49(2): 167-189.

Tucker, H. (2004). "Low Voter Turnout and American Democracy." ECPR Joint Sessions.

Warshaw, J. d. B.-K. a. C. (2024). "The Electoral and Policy Effects of Election Timing in City
and County Governments."

Webber, D. J. (2010). "School District Democracy: School Board Voting and School
Performance." Politics and Policy 38(1): 81-96.

Wood, C. (2002). "Voter Turnout in City Elections." Urban Affairs Review 38(2): 209-231.

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