District Systems to Support Equitable and High-Quality Teaching and Learning
Category: Policy, Politics, and Governance
Education in the U.S. has long been shaped by local school boards elected in nonpartisan contests, a structure intended to shield schools from broader political forces. Today, many states are considering reforms to make school board elections partisan, yet the impact on voters remains unclear. Using exit poll data from 839 voters in Michigan (nonpartisan elections) and Rhode Island (partisan elections), we examine how school board election structure influences voter decision-making. We find that partisanship strongly predicts voters’ educational priorities in both contexts. Moreover, when party labels appear on ballots, voters are nearly 50 percentage points more likely to select a copartisan. These findings raise critical questions about how electoral reforms may reshape local education governance and democratic engagement.
Keywords
school boards, local elections, school governance, exit poll
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/tn30-pf15
