Abstract
US voter turnout has not surpassed 65 percent of registered voters in the last 20 years, which is considered to be low by international standards. State and local public officials have been implementing election administration reforms of varied scopes and approaches since the late 1980s, in hopes of influencing voter turnout. Prior research suggests the impact of choice architecture may be limited, but more study is needed with respect to specific reforms implemented in recent years. In this thesis I investigated whether the 12.3 percent increase in voter turnout in Sacramento County during the June 2018 Statewide Primary election was caused mainly by the Voter’s Choice Act reform, or if political context of this election cycle had a greater effect on voter turnout. I also considered voters’ reactions to administrative reforms. To answer the main research question, I conducted an on-site survey of voters in Sacramento County during the 2018 Statewide Primary election. I also performed a comparative analysis of voter turnout in California counties that implemented the VCA reform and other counties that did not. To gauge voters’ reactions to reforms I drew upon write-in responses to the survey and interviewed county officials. After analyzing weighted and unweighted statewide voter turnout data, I concluded that there may have been a limited effect of VCA implementation on voter turnout. However, survey results showed that a far greater number of voters decided to participate in the election due to factors related to the larger political context. With respect to administration of VCA reform, I found that given a choice of ballot return methods, a greater number of Sacramento County voters chose direct contact with the county as opposed to returning their ballots through an intermediary. This has interesting implications for the administrative side of the Voter’s Choice Act, and such questions as how to improve collection of return ballots at vote centers and how many voter drop boxes to use. More generally, my thesis suggests that public officials should not count on choice architecture measures to bring about significant changes in voter behavior. Instead, they should focus on the measures’ efficiency and cost-effectiveness to provide the best possible service at the lowest cost to taxpayers.