Voting and school funding

In light of the Election Commission's recommendation that Worcester's polling places be moved out of schools, the study demonstrating a link between where you vote and how you vote may have repercussions beyond those anticipated. The election officials' concerns are valid ones of child safety, accessibility, and traffic. Moving half of Worcester's polling places out of schools, however, may make it a little bit harder to get people to vote for funding for them.
The study looked not only at the effect of voting on school funding in schools, but of voting on stem cells in churches. The difference made, while small, was statistically significant. News reports (on NPR and ABC) differ on if it could make enough of a difference to sway an election. It's called "contextual priming," where environmental cues influence behavior.

As Worcester voters rarely themselves face a vote directly on school funding (only in a 2 1/2 override), this may not make as much of a difference here. It does make one think, however, that it would be well to hold education hearings and budget votes in schools.