This book examines the dynamics behind shifts in voter registration rates across the states and adopts a framework of collaborative governance with election administration at its center. The book starts by introducing readers to the voter registration gap, an aggregate measure of variance in voter registration, and demonstrates how it fluctuates between federal elections. To explain why this variance exists, the author examines the relationship between federal reforms, such as the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act; and state-level reforms, such as Online Voter Registration. Thessalia Merivaki argues that the weak relationship between the two is not surprising, since it hides dramatic variations in administrative practices at the local level, which take place in shorter intervals than the most frequently used two-year estimates. In closing, she shows that challenges to successfully registering to vote persist, largely because of how, when, and whereeligible citizens have to register.

Provides a detailed overview of adopting and administering voter registration reforms at the state and local level, starting with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 Offers an examination of the administrative procedures that state and local officials utilize in response to federal and state laws Informs students, educators, and practitioners on the complexity of administering elections, specifically in regard to processing and verifying voter registration applications and interacting with various non-governmental agencies that offer voter registration

Autorentext

Thessalia Merivaki is an Assistant Professor of American Politics in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Mississippi State University, USA. Her works on voter list maintenance and provisional ballots have been published in Political Research Quarterly, American Politics Research, State Politics a nd Policy Quarterly, and Social Science Quarterly.

Inhalt
Election Reform and Voter Registration.- Gaps in Voter Registration: Ongoing Pressures to Expand the Electorate.- Federal and State Legislative Responses to Voter Registration.- How are Americans Registering to Vote? Beyond the Institutional Supply.- The Impact of Local-level Factors on Voter Registration Success.- Registered, but Not Quite: Processing Pending and Incomplete Registrations.- Opportunities and Challenges for Voter Registration Reform