The Enduring Effects of State Party Traditions on the Voting Experience.

Federalism manifests itself distinctly in the administration of elections, as the Constitution and historical practice leave this largely in the hands of the states. Consequently, voters across state and even local jurisdictions are likely to have different experiences at the polls. Based on a collection of data about the election features of states and counties in the 2008 election, we examine the impact of state party traditions on what voters encounter, including the frequency of partisan vs. non-partisan elections, the number of ballot propositions, ballot layout, opportunities to use convenience voting options, and other election characteristics. We find that the characteristics of a state's election system vary by the contours of its party system. Furthermore, individual attitudes about the voting process and toward political parties also differ by the kind of party system in the state. We also find that these attitudes are partially mediated by election characteristics, at least for independents. We thus demonstrate the enduring impact of states' political traditions, some aspects of which originated a century or more ago, on the conduct and administration of contemporary electoral systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]