Election Laws, State and Local Elections

Casting Votes

Because state and local governments generally control their own electoral processes, there is great variation in election laws and policies and in their applications. Even in national elections, states are able to determine when polls will open and close. Because of the time difference between the east and west coasts, polls are generally still open in California when all polls have closed along the eastern seaboard. In the past, some newscasters began calling elections before some Americans in the west had gone to the polls. Intensive criticism of this practice and the complaint that it negatively affected voter turnout has resulted in more careful reporting of election returns in recent years.

As compared to most industrialized nations, the United States ranks low in voter turnout. This is partly because the tally is based on the total number of Americans eligible to vote rather than the percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in a given election. Another reason for America's poor showing is the vast differences in voter registration laws among the 50 states. Criticism of these differences has resulted in demands for nationwide reform. Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming now allow same-day registration. In a number of states, the cutoff is 30 days before a particular election. Because of the differences in access to voter registration, American states experience significant variation in voter turnout. At 68.8 percent, Minnesota has the highest turnout, followed by Maine (67.3), Arkansas (66.4), Wisconsin (66.1), and Vermont (64.0). The states with the lowest voter turnout are Hawaii (40.5), Arizona (42.3), Texas (43.1), Nevada (43.9), and Georgia (43.8).

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