The University of Wisconsin-Madison released a report indicating early voting is linked to lower turnout in some states, possibly because it reduces “the buzz that builds around Election Day.” However, in states such as Wisconsin, which allow voters to register at the polls, the effect on turnout is more muted, the research showed.

Approximately 30 percent of voters cast their ballots before election day in 2008. However, the amount of excitement around election day is not as strong when voting activity is spread out over the last weeks of the campaign the report showed.

“Early and absentee voting siphons activity away from Election Day itself that would have stimulated turnout,” says a report from UW-Madison political science professors Barry Burden, Kenneth Mayer and David Canon, as well as public affairs professor Donald Moynihan from the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Election Day registration, which is popular among Wisconsin’s election clerks, consistently increases turnout, the UW-Madison research shows, and states where it’s allowed typically have the nation’s highest voting rates. In Wisconsin, 11.4 percent of voters registered at the polls in 2008, and turnout was second highest in the nation, behind Minnesota.

Kevin J. Kennedy, director of the state Government Accountability Board (GAB), said early voting wouldn’t be offered to simply increase turnout, but to make voting more convenient. 

The GAB released its own early voting report last week. Since May, GAB staff have been soliciting comments from election officials and the public on three possible options for early voting in Wisconsin. The report outlines the GAB’s recommendations, given the feedback, for modifications in the current system of in-person absentee voting. The GAB is seeking public comments on the recommendations, which will be considered by the Board at its meeting on Dec. 17.