Promises and Perils of Mobile Voting
Anthony Fowler · Election Law Journal Rules Politics and Policy · 2020
Voter turnout is often low and unequal, but the opportunity to vote on a mobile device could drastically lower the cost of democratic participation. In 2018, West Virginia became the first U.S. state to utilize mobile voting in a federal election, allowing it for overseas voters from 24 of its counties. I utilize this trial to assess the likely effects of mobile voting on the size and composition of the voting population. Implementing a differences-in-differences design with individual-level administrative data, I estimate that the ability to vote with a mobile device increased turnout by three to five percentage points, and I find little evidence that the effects vary across age, party, or military status. At the same time, new survey data shows that many Americans are understandably wary of online voting.