Biography: Dan Thompson is an assistant professor of political science at UCLA studying American politics and political methodology. He studies how the rules governing elections affect who participates, who wins, and ultimately the policies governments choose. He collects new data on elections and electoral institutions which he combinse with large administrative datasets on government behavior. He then uses modern empirical techniques for causal inference to study how electoral institutions shape election outcomes and public policy. Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. Thompson received a PhD in political science from Stanford in 2020 and a Master of Public Policy degree from UC Berkeley in 2014.

Abstract: Across elections from 2006 to 2022, reported turnout rates are over 6 percentage points lower for people with disabilities, and non-voters cite health as one of the top reasons for failing to cast a ballot. Federal law requires that polling places be accessible to people with disabilities, and many states have expanded convenience voting options in part to accommodate the needs of people facing health issues and those with disabilities. How much do adverse health events reduce voter participation? To answer these questions, we link UCLA Health medical records to lists of registered voters in Los Angeles going back to 2016. We compare people diagnosed with cancer or a substantial cardiovascular event in the year before an election to those diagnosed after election day. We find that cancer causes a 3 percentage point drop in turnout. We also present suggestive evidence that the effect is smaller in 2020 after Los Angeles began mailing a ballot to all registered voters.

An audio recording of Dr. Thompson’s presentation may be accessed here.

The slides of the presentation may be accessed here.