AMERICAN POLITICS & PUBLIC POLICY WORKSHOP
Abstract: Theories of voting suggest that many people don’t vote because they don’t have
enough time. However, we possess little causal evidence about the effects of time
constraints on electoral behavior. In this article, we leverage a novel geographic
natural experiment to show that exogenous disruptions in time allocations have
significant political consequences. Namely, we show that voter turnout is lower
on the marginally eastern side of U.S. time zone boundaries. Time zones also
appear to exacerbate participatory inequality and push election results towards
Republicans. While we explore several plausible mechanisms, our results suggest
that time zones trigger a bundle of changes resulting from increased tiredness.
This implies that turnout is affected not only by how much time individuals
possess, but also by how motivated they are to use their time productively. Our
work speaks to the precursors of participation and lends insights to interventions
seeking to increase voter turnout.
Jerome Schafer started his PhD in Political Science at Yale in 2012. He is interested in political behavior, political economy, and quantitative methodology. His current research uses lab experiments to explore biases in economic voting. For example, voters tend to overweight recent events relative to cumulative performance. The lab setting precisely identifies what voters are capable of, and might suggest ways to assist them in taking decisions that serve their interests. A dual French and German citizen, Jerome holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Sciences Po Paris. His article “European Commission Officials’ Policy Attititudes” is forthcoming in JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies.