Elections

Until the early 1990s, voter registration in the U.S. was managed primarily by local jurisdictions. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 — intended to improve registration efficiency and fairness — shifted some responsibilities to the states.

Minorities vote at lower rates in the United States, but the precise reasons are the subject of debate. Differences in education levels and resources — which are both correlated with turnout levels across racial groups — help explain varying turnout rates to some extent, but scholars are also studying other subtle factors.

Political scientists continue to explore how the current U.S. presidential primary system shapes the nomination process and produces certain kinds of outcomes. Critics note that candidates in primaries often must court party voters with more extreme positions, and early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire are not demographically or politically representative of the country as a whole.