Holding City Elections With National Races Makes Local Electorates More Representative

Low and uneven turnout undermines local democracy, and shifting local elections to the same day as national contests is a simple reform that can substantially increase participation. Prior research shows on-cycle November elections generally double local voter turnout compared with stand-alone local contests, but whether higher turnout produces a more representative electorate has been slim and mixed.

📊 How Voter Makeup Was Tracked

Election timing records were linked to detailed microtargeting voter data containing demographic information to map who votes in city elections across California.

• Election timing information distinguishing on-cycle (held with national contests) and stand-alone local elections
• Microtargeting voter files with individual-level race, age, and partisanship indicators
• Analysis focused on composition of city electorates in California

📈 Key Findings

• Moving city elections to on-cycle timing in California yields an electorate that is considerably more representative by race, age, and partisanship.
• The representativeness gains are largest when local elections coincide with presidential contests.
• These compositional changes accompany the well-documented turnout boost for on-cycle elections (on-cycle November contests generally double turnout relative to stand-alone contests).

💡 Why It Matters

Shifting local elections onto the national election calendar is a straightforward institutional reform that not only raises turnout but also makes the voters who decide city races look more like the population in race, age, and partisan composition. This timing change therefore offers a practical lever to improve descriptive representation and strengthen local democratic legitimacy.