Election Day!

This chapter assesses three aspects of electoral administration that profoundly affect the Election Day experience: where and when citizens cast their ballots, the locus of authority over electoral administration, and the role of political parties in electoral administration. It addresses the growing trend of “convenience voting,” which represents a break from traditional simultaneous, in-person voting, allowing citizens to vote days or weeks in advance of an election and/or to vote by mail. The chapter then focuses on the distribution of responsibility for electoral administration. Electoral administration includes ensuring that it is not too costly or difficult to vote, providing information on how to vote, and mobilizing the citizenry. The creation and application of legal rules governing electoral practice is a central aspect of electoral administration, but formal state actions do not exhaust the realm of electoral administration. The chapter asks what role local governments and quasi-public entities like political parties should have in administering elections.