Replication Data for: Does Threatening their Franchise Make Registered Voters More Likely to Participate? Evidence from an Aborted Voter Purge

Prior research predicts that election administration changes that increase voting costs should decrease participation, but it fails to consider that some interpret those changes as attacking their franchise. Drawing on psychological reactance theory, we test whether such perceived attacks might instead activate such citizens. We leverage the State of Florida’s multi-stage effort in 2012 to purge suspected noncitizens from its voter rolls, comparing the voting rates of suspected noncitizens whose registration was and was not formally challenged by the state. Within-registrant difference-in-difference and matching analyses estimate a positive, significant participatory effect of being challenged, particularly for Hispanics (the vast majority of our sample). Placebo tests show those challenged were no more likely than those not challenged to previously vote.