Facial Recognition Technology and Voter Turnout

States worldwide use facial recognition technology (FRT) to assist in policing citizens, monitoring public goods, and even running elections. This article asks how FRT in polling stations affects voter turnout. Existing research on technology in elections offers ambiguous predictions for the direction and magnitude of the effect. I leverage a state-run randomized pilot of FRT in local elections in a municipality in Telangana, India, to show that polling stations with FRT have lower turnout compared to those without. I discuss how three possible mechanisms might explain this effect: logistical issues, shifts in fraudulent activity, and apprehension about government surveillance particularly among marginalized citizens. Given the small sample of this pilot, the findings should be viewed as suggestive but indicative of the need for future research on the consequences that new technologies in governance can have on citizens in democracies.