Voting Alone: The Long Term Effects of Early Voting on Social Ties.

The article examines the effects of convenience voting on social capital and feelings of civic duty. Information is presented on early voting options. To test the hypothesis that increased early voting will be associated with lower levels of civic duty and social capital, it compares early/absentee/mail-in voters to Election Day voters from the 2004 election in the U.S. A cross-sectional survey has revealed that pre-Election Day voting has little effect on cooperative behaviors.