Cross-State Strategic Voting
Abstract
We estimate that 3.1 percent of US voters, or 6.1 million individuals, were registered to vote in two states in 2020, opening up the possibility for them to choose where to vote. Double registrants are concentrated in the wealthiest zip codes and respond to both incentives and costs, disproportionately choosing to vote in swing states (higher incentive) and states that automatically send out mail-in ballots (lower cost). We call this behavior Cross-State Strategic Voting. While others have documented strategic incentives on who to vote for, this paper is the first to consider strategic incentives on where to vote. (JEL D63, D72, K16)
Fields of Study & Subjects
Electoral Systems and Political Participation
Game Theory and Voting Systems
Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
Publication details
- Journal / source
- American Economic Journal Economic Policy
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 159–189
- Publication date
- 29 January 2026
- Language
- EN