Vote Centers and the Voter Experience

AuthorMatt Lamb,Arisa Sadeghpour,Cynthia Chen
Published date01 November 2021
Date01 November 2021
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X211029581
Subject MatterArticles
https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X211029581
American Politics Research
2021, Vol. 49(6) 591 –603
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X211029581
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Article
Every Election Day, news broadcast coverage includes
images of long lines at polling places and frustrated voters
waiting to cast their ballots. The news coverage, and subse-
quent empirical research, shows these long wait times in line
to be more prevalent in predominantly Black neighborhoods,
increasing concerns of disparities in voting conditions
amongst historically marginalized communities (Chen et al.,
2019; Wilson, 2019; Pettigrew, 2017). In the aftermath of the
2012 election, such coverage garnered the attention of
President Barack Obama, who established by executive order
the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.
One of the recommendations in the commission’s final report
was to implement “state-of-the-art techniques to assure effi-
cient management of polling places, including tools the
Commission is publicizing and recommending for the effi-
cient allocation of polling place resources” (Bauer et al.,
2014). Nationwide, election administrators have responded
to real and perceived problems articulated in the report by
implementing convenience voting measures such as Early
Voting, same-day registration, and vote-by-mail. These
efforts attempt to increase turnout, create a more equitable
polling environment for voters, all while trying to temper
election administration expenditures.
One such form of convenience voting that has been
offered as a remedy for long lines and efficient polling place
resource management is “vote centers.” Vote centers are
Election Day polling locations that are open to all voters in a
county, usually taking the form of a small number of large,
centrally located facilities that replace precinct level polling-
places. These vote centers follow similar guidelines to those
used for Early Voting, in which registered voters can vote at
a multitude of polling locations up to 2 to 3 weeks before
Election Day. In both cases, given the convenience of choice,
voters are able to vote at a location that is proximate to where
they work, travel, or shop, rather than being tethered to the
polling station nearest to their home. Proponents of vote cen-
ters argue that they lower the cost of voting for both counties
and voters. Fewer polling place locations are less expensive
for county election administrators to rent and staff. Further,
when voters have multiple locations at which they can vote,
the convenience—and thus the likelihood—of voting is
thought to increase. Giving voters the ability to vote at any
location also alleviates concerns that voters in underrepre-
sented communities may have disproportionately worse
experiences at the polling place. Consequently, it is generally
thought that increasing the options available to an Election
Day voter both enhances the likelihood of voter participation
and improves the experience of voting.
The most robust research on the impact of vote centers
has focused exclusively on voter turnout, and has found
modest increases. These increases tend to be conditional, as
they are only observed amongst infrequent voters and in con-
stitutional, off-year elections (Cortina & Rottinghaus, 2019;
Stein & Vonnahme, 2008, 2012). However, there has been no
direct examination of the actual mechanism by which vote
centers may increase turnout. The conditionality of the
increased participation rates found in previous literature
1029581APRXXX10.1177/1532673X211029581American Politics ResearchChen et al.
research-article2021
1Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
2Austin Community College, Round Rock, TX, USA
Corresponding Author:
Matt Lamb, Austin Community College, 4400 College Park Drive, Round
Rock, TX 78665, USA.
Email: gary.lamb@austincc.edu
Vote Centers and the Voter Experience
Cynthia Chen1, Arisa Sadeghpour1, and Matt Lamb2
Abstract
The scholarship regarding vote centers primarily focuses on their impact on voter turnout. Though previous literature
suggests modest and conditional increases in voter participation, the mechanism by which vote centers increase participation
is less understood. One suggested mechanism is that they provide voters a better experience at the polling place. In this
article, we investigate whether voters who cast their ballot at vote centers have a better experience than those who vote at
traditional precinct polling places. Utilizing a unique dataset collected from exit polls of Election Day voters before and after
the implementation of vote centers in Harris County, Texas, we examine if vote centers improved the voters’ experience.
Contrary to theoretical expectations, we find that those who voted at a vote center reported having a more negative
experience. This negative experience is driven primarily by longer lines and less helpful poll workers.
Keywords
elections, voting, American politics, vote centers

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