Addressing the Right to Vote: Address Confidentiality Programs in the United States

Abstract

When a survivor of intimate partner violence (IPV) flees abuse but wishes to engage in a new community safely, what can states do to ensure their ability to do so? Since 1991, 41 states have implemented Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs), programs that seek to provide safe mechanisms for survivors of IPV to vote and participate in civil society by anonymizing survivors' addresses in public records so that abusers may not find them. In the first robust policy analysis of state ACPS, this work presents a theoretical framework for deciphering which ACP characteristics lead program enrollment numbers to best align with estimated IPV needs. By examining the eligibility criteria, application process, and participation outcomes of state ACPs, this thesis seeks to establish whether the perceived high administrative burdens of ACPs lead to lower take-up rates of the programs across states and may be responsible for the low number of Americans, just 42,059 of the estimated 10 million women and men who are abused by an intimate partner in the United States annually, who utilize them. I find that administrative burdens negatively impact the take-up rates of ACPs and offer suggestions for avenues for reform.