Browsing by Author "Jones, Colin J"

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    The Social Context of Voting and Its Influences on Voting Beliefs and Behavior
    (2023-04-20) Jones, Colin J; Stein, Robert M
    Convenience voting reforms are designed to lower the costs of casting a ballot. However, voting reforms such as Election Day Vote Centers and Early Voting also allow voters to select where they would like to vote which also allows them to decide who they would like to cast a ballot alongside. This research examines the extent to which individuals prefer to vote with others who are demographically similar to themselves and how the social makeup of a polling place is an influential factor when voters are deciding which polling place to use. It then examines how voting at a more demographically similar voting location influences future behaviors such as whether the voter returns to the same polling place in the next election, chooses to cast a ballot via the same method, or intends on voting again in the next election. In addition to these behaviors this research studies how voter’s beliefs about the election such as their confidence in the outcome of the election, experience while voting, and belief about the frequency of voter fraud are influenced by the social context in which they cast their vote. Then I examine how winning or losing down ballot races influence a voter’s confidence that ballots were accurately counted in the most recent election and whether winning a higher number of down ballot races can ameliorate the effect of losing a Presidential election when it comes to having confidence in the results of an election. Results indicate that voters prefer to cast their ballot alongside other voters who are a similar race, age, and political party. However, voting at a polling place where they are a demographic outlier does not influence a person’s election confidence, beliefs about voter fraud, voting experience, likelihood of voting in the next election, or where and how they vote in subsequent elections. Finally, winning down ballot races does not impact voter confidence in the same way as the Presidential race.