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This paper analyzes the effect of a redrawing of political boundaries on voting patterns and investigates whether it leads to closer conformity of an electorate's voting patterns with its political preferences. We study these issues in the context of a reorganization of states in India. In 2000, Madhya Pradesh, the biggest state in India before the reorganization, was subdivided into Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the latter accounting for less than one-fourth of the electorate of undivided Madhya Pradesh. Using socioeconomic composition and traditional voting patterns, we argue that there are differences in political preferences between Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Next, in the context of a theoretical model that captures some of the basic features of the electoral scenario of the two regions, we predict that before reorganization, the smaller region would vote strategically to elect representatives with preferences more closely aligned to those of the bigger region. Once Chhattisgarh became a separate state, however, this motive would no longer operate, and the voting distributions of the two regions would differ. Using detailed data on state elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in 1993, 1998, and 2003 as well as a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, we find that voting patterns in the two regions were indeed very similar before reorganization but strikingly different afterwards, with a relative shift in Chhattisgarh toward its inherent political preferences. These findings are reasonably robust in that they continue to hold after controlling for other confounding factors and survive several sensitivity tests.

When election reforms such as Ranked Choice Voting or the Alternative Vote are proposed to replace plurality voting, they offer lengthier instructions, more opportunities for political expression, and more opportunities for mistakes on the ballot. Observational studies of voting error rely on ecological inference from geographically aggregated data. Here we use an experimental approach instead, to examine the effect of two different ballot conditions at the individual level of analysis: the input rules that the voter must use and the number of ballot options presented for the voter's choice. This experiment randomly assigned three different input rules (single-mark, ranking, and grading) and two different candidate lists (with six and eight candidates) to over 6,000 online respondents in the USA, during the American presidential primary elections in 2020, simulating a single-winner presidential election. With more expressive input rules (ranking and grading), the distinction between minor mistakes and totally invalid votes—a distinction inapplicable to single‐mark ballots (1MB) voting—assumes new importance. Regression analysis indicates that more complicated input rules and more candidates on the ballot did not raise the probability that a voter would cast a void (uncountable) vote, despite raising the probability of at least one violation of voting instructions.

Evidence on the extent to which prejudice serves as a barrier to black and Latino candidates for office is mixed. Some research has found that black and Latino candidates are disadvantaged in terms of their chances of winning election and that they are evaluated differently by voters, while other findings suggest that this may not be the case. This article examines the effects of racial prejudice on candidate evaluation and voting behavior. It uses a unique experimental design to test for direct effects of prejudice on candidate evaluation and voting behavior, as well as indirect effects of prejudice on these variables via the information that subjects seek out. I find that subjects higher in symbolic racism are less likely to vote "correctly" when their preferences most closely align with a black or Latino candidate and that they rate minority candidates more negatively than their white counterparts. I also find that subjects high in prejudice search for less information about minority candidates and that this less robust information search mediates the relationship between prejudice and candidate evaluation and vote measures. Results also suggest that increased information search may mitigate the effects of prejudice on correct voting.

AbstractThe current study utilized the 2018 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey to explore the relations among school district political attitudes, bullying experiences, and mental health outcomes, particularly for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) students. Although bullying was associated with greater psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression, and suicidality) for all students, LGBTQ+ students experienced more bullying and psychological distress. Bullying experiences mediated the relation between LGBTQ+ identity and psychological distress. However, school district voting record moderated the relation between LGBTQ+ identity and bullying, such that LGBTQ+ students in more conservative districts, or districts with more votes for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, experienced more bullying, which was associated with greater psychological distress. Additionally, increased teacher intervention during instances of bullying was related to less bullying for LGBTQ+ students. Finally, in more conservative‐leaning districts, LGBTQ+ students reported less teacher intervention, which was associated with more bullying and psychological distress. Given that political conservatism was related to higher rates of bullying and poorer mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ students, we recommend improving school‐based LGBTQ+ bullying policies to prioritize the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth.

This is the data set and the R-File used in the article "Voting in the rain – The impact of rain on participation in open-air assemblies" forthcoming in Local Government Studies.

Digitization of electoral processes depends on confident systems that produce verifiable evidence. The design and implementation of voting systems has been widely studied in prior research, bringing together expertise in many fields. Switzerland is organized in a federal, decentralized structure of independent governmental entities. Thus, its decentralized structure is a real-world example for implementing an electronic voting system, where trust is distributed among multiple authorities. This work outlines the design and implementation of a blockchain-based electronic voting system providing cast-as-intended verifiability. The generation of non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge enables every voter to verify the encrypted vote, while maintaining the secrecy of the ballot. The Public Bulletin Board (PBB) is a crucial component of every electronic voting system, serving as a publicly verifiable log of communication and ballots - here a blockchain is used as the PBB. Also, the required cryptographic operations are in linear relation to the number of voters, making the outlined system fit for large-scale elections.

Indigenous communities and organizations are increasingly using digital technologies to build community capacity, strengthen community consultation, and improve political participation. In particular, Internet voting is a type of technology to which First Nations have been drawn. This article explores Whitefish River First Nation's (WRFN) experience introducing Internet voting in the course of ratifying a new matrimonial real property law (MRP). Specifically, we examine the implications of Internet voting for political participation and electoral administration at the community level. Although community members' uptake of Internet voting was very modest, we find the experience of adoption had other subtle impacts on community capacity, specifically in terms of empowering the community to pass its own laws and connecting youth and elders. With respect to administration, Internet voting provided an opportunity to connect with community members using technology, to modernize voting processes, and to better accommodate community members needs.