Time Regulations as Electoral Policy

• Author: R. Urbatsch
• DOI: 10.1177/1532673X14523034
• Published date: 01 September 2014
• Date: 01 September 2014
• Subject Matter: Articles

American Politics Research

2014, Vol. 42(5) 841 –855

© The Author(s) 2014

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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X14523034

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Article

Time Regulations as

Electoral Policy

R. Urbatsch1

Abstract

Having had more or less sleep changes mood and behavior; for example,

more sleep associates with greater productivity and a perception that more

time is available. This changes the time cost of voting in ways particularly

important for the United States, where the general elections are sometimes

but not always held 2 days after a 25-hr day, when people typically have had

more time to catch up on sleep. Election returns and surveys confirm that

circumstances where the election occurs 2 days after a long day produce

higher turnout, suggesting a role for factors that affect sleep in political

behavior.

Keywords

turnout, voting, sleep, daylight saving time, circadian rhythm

In non-tropical parts of the world, daylight hours shift over the course of the

year. To align hours of natural light with hours of human activity, many gov-

ernments mandate “daylight saving time” (or “summer time”): a seasonal

misalignment of the clock, shortening one spring day and lengthening one

autumn day by an hour. These changes in day length affect sleep patterns for

several subsequent days (Lahti, Leppämäki, Lönnqvist, & Partonen, 2006),

perturbing circadian rhythms (Kantermann, Juda, Merrow, & Roenneberg,

2007) and altering mood, alertness, and time available. The consequences are

often innocuous, but major events can arise in these atypical periods. In

1Iowa State University, Ames, USA

Corresponding Author:

R. Urbatsch, Iowa State University, 503 Ross Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1204, USA.

Email: rurbat@iastate.edu

523034APRXXX10.1177/1532673X14523034American Politics ResearchUrbatsch

research-article2014