Election day registration's effect on US voter turnout

Objective. Early voter registration deadlines make voting more difficult fo r many American citizens. In an attempt to facilitate voting, several U.S. states now permit registration on election day, at the height of the campai gn. This article examines the turnout effects of adopting election day regi stration (EDR) and other smaller reductions in closing dates. Methods. Prim arily using the Current Population Study (1972-1996), we estimate the turno ut advantage of EDR for citizens having low, middle, and high socioeconomic status. Results. The elimination of closing dates, through EDR, is predict ed to produce about a 7-percentage-point turnout boost in the average state . Those having a high school education and middle incomes are expected to s ee the largest turnout gains, with the less educated and poorer citizens do ing almost as well. No evidence is found to link the implementation of EDR to subsequent changes in the electorate's partisan balance. Conclusions. Ev en the most dramatic easing of voter registration costs has a modest effect on the total number of voters and little impact on the long-standing skew toward greater representation of those having higher status in the voting e lectorate of the United States.