“A Precinct Too Far: Turnout and Voting Costs.” Enrico Cantoni

“[F]inds that a quarter-mile increase in distance to the polling place reduces the number of ballots cast by two to five percent, which translates to a one to three percentage point decrease in turnout. The negative impact of distance to the polling place is concentrated disproportionately in areas with a high number of non-white voters, especially in lower-turnout non-federal elections. Corresponding proportional effects in primarily white areas are one-third as large and mostly insignificant.”

Quoting Election Lab Summary. Available at: https://electionlab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2023-10/in-person-voting_MEAES.pdf

Author(s): Enrico Cantoni

Date Published: January 2020

Publication: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics

Citation: Cantoni, Enrico. 2020. “A Precinct Too Far: Turnout and Voting Costs.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 12 (1): 61–85.

Paper available at: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20180306