Early Voting in Florida

Abstract

In 2011, the State of Florida proposed a series of changes in how it conducts elections, most notably for this paper, reducing the days and hours allowed for early in-person voting. We analyze the impact of these changes on the Florida early electorate using statewide voter registration, voter history, and county early voting files, tracking the voting behavior of Floridians from 2006 to 2012, with a particular focus on African-Americans. We demonstrate that while shortening the time of early voting does not appear to have hindered the earliest of early voters, it does appear to have dissuaded turnout among the latest early voters, especially those who previously voted on the final Sunday before Election Day. We further show that African-American voters showed a substantially higher preference for voting on that final Sunday, but this preference is far less evident in 2012 after the changes to the law.

Keywords: elections, early voting, Florida