Publication Date

Spring 2024

Degree Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Urban and Regional Planning

Keywords

Elections, equity, geospatial, voting, marginalization

Abstract

The way Californians vote is changing. While some of the laws surrounding these changes are close to a decade old, the events of 2020 surrounding the November Presidential Election and the COVID-19 pandemic both accelerated and expanded the adoption of contactless voting approaches such as vote-by-mail and the ballot drop box. Neither tool is new to California voters. Vote-by-mail was introduced to the state in 1962 (CA Secretary of State, unknown) and ballot drop boxes were first used in 2014 (Sherman, 2020). In 2016 California Senate Bill 450 (SB-450, 2016) was signed into law. Also known as the Voters Choice Act (VCA), this bill introduced a new way for county election officials to run elections that included expanding in-person access and contactless voting services. Those counties that adopt the VCA, mail every registered voter a vote-by-mail ballot. Voters can use the United States Postal Service (USPS) to mail in their ballot, deliver it to a vote center, or place it in a ballot drop box which is maintained by the county elections department. In addition, voting in-person can be done at a vote center, a larger version of the traditional polling place.

The VCA’s stated goal is to increase voter engagement and turnout by making voting more accessible – particularly among historically marginalized voters (Stein & Woodson, 2024). But, to date, many county elections officials report being uncertain as to whether their efforts have reached historically marginalized voters, including communities of color and low-income voters (Stein & Woodson, 2024). The VCA introduced a set of criteria county elections officials were to use to determine locations for ballot drop boxes and vote centers in order to increase voter engagement in marginalized communities. This paper will model the demographic indicators of marginalization to identify ideal locations for ballot drop boxes and compare that with the placement of ballot drop boxes for the November 2020 Presidential Election in Santa Cruz County, thus providing a tool to improve voter engagement in future elections.

Research Question: Does ballot drop box placement impact the voting habits of the California Voter’s Choice Act target communities? Specifically, voters with low vehicle access, voters with disabilities, language minority voters, voters living in poverty and people who have not previously voted.

Comments

Dual master’s degrees in Geography (MA) and Urban Planning (MUP)

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