Comparative research has shed much light on individual-level predictors of voting. One assumption underlying this literature is that voting occurs at the end of the election campaign, after a process of information processing by the voter. Surveys indicate the use of “convenience voting” methods is increasing over time and across cases. This paper reports analyses from four cases: Finland (parliamentary and presidential elections between 1983 and 2011; early voting in these elections ranges between 9.7 and 49.6%), Switzerland (federal elections between 1991 and 2011, ranging between 17.2 and 83.4%), the United Kingdom (parliamentary elections between 2001 and 2010, ranging between 4.1 and 20%), and the United States (federal elections between 1998 and 2012, ranging between 10 and 31%) and assesses if early voters are systematically distinct from voters who cast a ballot on election day or nonvoters.
