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Whether electronic voting machines lessen the tendency of voters to vote at the top of the ballot and skip the bottom; US.

Objectives Many cities in the United States have undergone or are undergoing racial transition from a majority white to a majority black population. Accompanying this is a change in the racial makeup of elections and officeholders. This article seeks to explain racial patterns in voter roll-off as a city undergoes racial transition. Methods Using a fixed-effects regression model, we analyze the level of voter roll-off (from the top-of-the-ballot mayoral contest) among black and white voters across Memphis City Council elections, from 1967 through 2003. Results The level of voter roll-off among racial groups is sensitive to the racial aspect of political change. Black voters are most likely to continue to vote in council contests when there is a racial choice among candidates, when blacks have previously been elected, and when blacks occupy the mayoralty and a majority of council seats. Whites are most likely to vote in racially competitive council contests, as well as when there are a large number of white candidates, and when whites hold a majority of the council seats. Conclusions In settings such as Memphis, where race has played a pronounced historic role, the racial context of political empowerment has a strong influence on electoral participation. Elections below the top-of-the-ballot become more salient, and political efficacy grows among racial group members when that cohort occupies institutional positions, particularly the majority of positions in a governing institution. Adapted from the source document.

Discusses the impact of use of the electronic voting machine on the rate at which voters take part in direct democracy by lowering ballot roll-off, that is, failure by voters at the polls to record a preference in referenda contests; based on voting data, 1992 and 1996; Kentucky.