Discounted Costs of Voting? The Influence of Early Voting Site Accessibility in Swedish General Elections

Abstract

Focusing on one of the most prevalent trends in contemporary democratic elections, voting ahead of election day, this study investigates the influence of accessibility to early voting sites within a proportional electoral system on the share of votes cast early and turnout. Utilizing data from five Swedish general elections spanning from 2006 to 2022 following a reform to the Swedish election law, four distinct measures of accessibility to early voting sites are examined. Studying the 290 Swedish municipalities over the period and controlling for relevant variables, the analysis reveals that offering better accessibility to early voting sites can significantly increase the share of votes cast early, specifically by offering higher density of sites and by locating early voting sites at locations that are more frequented. But contrary to expectations, the analysis also reveals that better accessibility to early voting sites does not help increase voter turnout.

Keywords

administrative reform elections costs of voting early voting voter turnout Sweden municipalities local administration

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