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Voter Turnout (voter + turnout)
Selected AbstractsLabor Council Outreach and Union Member Voter Turnout: A Microanalysis from the 2000 ElectionINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2004Article first published online: 25 MAR 200, Roland Zullo A resource-mobilization theoretical framework is used to model voter turnout as a function of contacts performed by a politically active labor council. Results indicate that the probability of voting in the 2000 national election was 27 to 17 percentage points higher for grocery workers that received a get-out-the-vote telephone contact just before the election or on Election Day. Workers contacted 2 months prior to the election were associated with an 8 to 11 percentage point gain in voter turnout. The results imply that by pooling resources organized labor can serve as a positive social institution for increasing the political participation of working-class citizens. [source] ,Rational' Theories of Voter Turnout: A ReviewPOLITICAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2006Benny Geys The paradox between an individual's decisions to head to the polls and the absence of strictly rational arguments for this action has intrigued , and troubled , many scholars. The present article surveys various theoretical contributions to resolve this paradox of (not) voting. We assess these approaches based on their ability to explain a number of ,stylised facts' with respect to voter turnout. The main conclusion is that straying away from the behavioural assumptions of the Downsian model provides more realistic models and leads to promising predictions as to the individual's decision to head to the polls. Incorporating the role of (social) groups and learning in particular can be regarded as important strides towards understanding the individual's decision to cast a vote. [source] Public Opinion Polls, Voter Turnout, and Welfare: An Experimental StudyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010Jens Großer We experimentally study the impact of public opinion poll releases on voter turnout and welfare in a participation game. We find higher overall turnout rates when polls inform the electorate about the levels of support for the candidates than when polls are prohibited. Distinguishing between allied and floating voters, our data show that this increase in turnout is entirely due to floating voters. When polls indicate equal levels of support for the candidates, turnout is high and welfare is low (compared to the situation without polls). In contrast, when polls reveal more unequal levels of support, turnout is lower with than without this information, while the effect of polls on welfare is nonnegative. Finally, many of our results are well predicted by quantal response (logit) equilibrium. [source] Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Education on Voter TurnoutAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Rachel Milstein Sondheimer The powerful relationship between education and voter turnout is arguably the most well-documented and robust finding in American survey research. Yet the causal interpretation of this relationship remains controversial, with many authors suggesting that the apparent link between education and turnout is spurious. In contrast to previous work, which has relied on observational data to assess the effect of education on voter turnout, this article analyzes two randomized experiments and one quasi-experiment in which educational attainment was altered exogenously. We track the children in these experiments over the long term, examining their voting rates as adults. In all three studies, we find that exogenously induced changes in high school graduation rates have powerful effects on voter turnout rates. These results imply that the correlation between education and turnout is indeed causal. We discuss some of the pathways by which education may transmit its influence. [source] A Comparative Analysis of Political Communication Systems and Voter TurnoutAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2009Mijeong Baek This article explores how political communication institutions affect cross-national differences in voter turnout in democratic elections. It demonstrates how the structure and means of conveying political messages,gauged by media systems, access to paid political television advertising, and campaign finance laws,explain variations in turnout across 74 countries. Relying on a "mobilization" perspective, I argue that institutional settings that reduce information costs for voters will increase turnout. The major empirical findings are twofold. First, campaign finance systems that allow more money (and electioneering communication) to enter election campaigns are associated with higher levels of voter turnout. Second, broadcasting systems and access to paid political television advertising explain cross-national variation in turnout, but their effects are more complex than initially expected. While public broadcasting clearly promotes higher levels of turnout, it also modifies the effect of paid advertising access on turnout. [source] Voter Turnout in Thai Elections: An Analysis of the 2005 Thai National ElectionASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2009David A. Owen This article tested two contending theories of political participation, the resource theory and the theory of clientelism, utilizing provincial data from all 76 provinces in Thailand for the 2005 national election, collected from government sources that have remained unexamined until now. According to the resource theory, one would expect turnout to be higher in wealthy provinces where education and income levels are higher. However, where there are high levels of clientelism, one would expect lower turnout in provinces with higher levels of education and/or income. I used a linear regression model to test several hypotheses derived from these contending theories and found that there is support for the theory of clientelism. The results have important implications for the state of the Thai democracy before the September 2006 coup and the country's prospects for a return to democracy. [source] The effect of socioeconomic factors on voter turnout in Finland: A register-based study of 2.9 million votersEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 5 2005PEKKA MARTIKAINEN The analyses are based on individual-level register data from electoral wards from the parliamentary elections of 1999 linked to population registration data on personal characteristics covering the whole 25 to 69 year-old Finnish electorate. The results show that income and housing tenure are more important determinants of turnout among older voters than among younger voters, whereas education has a dominant role in determining young people's turnout. Moreover, class has maintained its discriminatory power in determining turnout in all age groups even though working-class under-representation in participation can be partly attributable to previously obtained educational attainment. Furthermore, the lower turnout of younger voters remains unexplained even if socioeconomic factors are held constant. Lower turnout among lower social classes and among the young will affect the legitimacy of the prevalent model of party democracy. [source] Labor Council Outreach and Union Member Voter Turnout: A Microanalysis from the 2000 ElectionINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2004Article first published online: 25 MAR 200, Roland Zullo A resource-mobilization theoretical framework is used to model voter turnout as a function of contacts performed by a politically active labor council. Results indicate that the probability of voting in the 2000 national election was 27 to 17 percentage points higher for grocery workers that received a get-out-the-vote telephone contact just before the election or on Election Day. Workers contacted 2 months prior to the election were associated with an 8 to 11 percentage point gain in voter turnout. The results imply that by pooling resources organized labor can serve as a positive social institution for increasing the political participation of working-class citizens. [source] BIG CITY, BIG TURNOUT?JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2007ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION IN AMERICAN CITIES ABSTRACT:,This article seeks to describe and explain variation in voter turnout in American big city municipal elections using data from 332 mayoral elections in 38 large U.S. cities over 25 years. In my cross-sectional time-series analysis of turnout in mayoral elections, I find that city-level demographic factors are only weakly correlated with turnout. By contrast, institutional and campaign factors explain much of the variation. The effect of Progressive era reforms on depressing turnout is greatest in the most competitive elections. I conclude by discussing the implication of the overall downward trend in turnout and changes cities can make to increase participation. [source] ,Rational' Theories of Voter Turnout: A ReviewPOLITICAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2006Benny Geys The paradox between an individual's decisions to head to the polls and the absence of strictly rational arguments for this action has intrigued , and troubled , many scholars. The present article surveys various theoretical contributions to resolve this paradox of (not) voting. We assess these approaches based on their ability to explain a number of ,stylised facts' with respect to voter turnout. The main conclusion is that straying away from the behavioural assumptions of the Downsian model provides more realistic models and leads to promising predictions as to the individual's decision to head to the polls. Incorporating the role of (social) groups and learning in particular can be regarded as important strides towards understanding the individual's decision to cast a vote. [source] Public Opinion Polls, Voter Turnout, and Welfare: An Experimental StudyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010Jens Großer We experimentally study the impact of public opinion poll releases on voter turnout and welfare in a participation game. We find higher overall turnout rates when polls inform the electorate about the levels of support for the candidates than when polls are prohibited. Distinguishing between allied and floating voters, our data show that this increase in turnout is entirely due to floating voters. When polls indicate equal levels of support for the candidates, turnout is high and welfare is low (compared to the situation without polls). In contrast, when polls reveal more unequal levels of support, turnout is lower with than without this information, while the effect of polls on welfare is nonnegative. Finally, many of our results are well predicted by quantal response (logit) equilibrium. [source] Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Education on Voter TurnoutAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Rachel Milstein Sondheimer The powerful relationship between education and voter turnout is arguably the most well-documented and robust finding in American survey research. Yet the causal interpretation of this relationship remains controversial, with many authors suggesting that the apparent link between education and turnout is spurious. In contrast to previous work, which has relied on observational data to assess the effect of education on voter turnout, this article analyzes two randomized experiments and one quasi-experiment in which educational attainment was altered exogenously. We track the children in these experiments over the long term, examining their voting rates as adults. In all three studies, we find that exogenously induced changes in high school graduation rates have powerful effects on voter turnout rates. These results imply that the correlation between education and turnout is indeed causal. We discuss some of the pathways by which education may transmit its influence. [source] Don't Forget to Vote: Text Message Reminders as a Mobilization ToolAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2009Allison Dale Current explanations of effective voter mobilization strategies maintain that turnout increases only when a potential voter is persuaded to participate through increased social connectedness. The connectedness explanation does not take into account, however, that registered voters, by registering, have already signaled their interest in voting. The theory presented in this article predicts that impersonal, noticeable,messages can succeed in increasing the likelihood that a registered voter will turn out by reminding the recipient that Election Day is approaching. Text messaging is examined as an example of an impersonal, noticeable communication to potential voters. A nationwide field experiment (n = 8,053) in the 2006 election finds that text message reminders produce a statistically significant 3.0 percentage point increase in the likelihood of voting. While increasing social connectedness has been shown to positively affect voter turnout, the results of this study, in combination with empirical evidence from prior studies, suggest that connectedness is not a necessary condition for a successful mobilization campaign. For certain voters, a noticeable reminder is sufficient to drive them to the polls. [source] A Comparative Analysis of Political Communication Systems and Voter TurnoutAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2009Mijeong Baek This article explores how political communication institutions affect cross-national differences in voter turnout in democratic elections. It demonstrates how the structure and means of conveying political messages,gauged by media systems, access to paid political television advertising, and campaign finance laws,explain variations in turnout across 74 countries. Relying on a "mobilization" perspective, I argue that institutional settings that reduce information costs for voters will increase turnout. The major empirical findings are twofold. First, campaign finance systems that allow more money (and electioneering communication) to enter election campaigns are associated with higher levels of voter turnout. Second, broadcasting systems and access to paid political television advertising explain cross-national variation in turnout, but their effects are more complex than initially expected. While public broadcasting clearly promotes higher levels of turnout, it also modifies the effect of paid advertising access on turnout. [source] Does Voting History Matter?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2009Analysing Persistence in Turnout Individuals who vote in one election are more likely to vote in the next. Yet modelling the causal relationship between past and current voting decisions is intrinsically difficult, as this positive association can exist due to habit formation or unobserved heterogeneity. This article overcomes this problem using longitudinal data from the British National Child Development Study (NCDS) to examine voter turnout across three elections. It distinguishes between unobserved heterogeneity caused by fixed individual characteristics and the initial conditions problem, which occurs when voting behavior in a previous, but unobserved, period influences current voting behavior. It finds that, controlling for fixed effects, unobserved heterogeneity has little impact on the estimated degree of habit in voter turnout; however, failing to control for initial conditions reduces the estimate by a half. The results imply that voting in one election increases the probability of voting in a subsequent election by 13%. [source] The Mobilization of Core Supporters: Campaigns, Turnout, and Electoral Composition in United States Presidential ElectionsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2005Thomas M. Holbrook Our objective is to investigate the relationship between presidential campaign activities and political mobilization in the states, with specific focus on the mobilization of core constituents. Using data on presidential campaign visits, presidential campaign media purchases, and party transfers to the states, we highlight some interesting mobilization patterns. First, voter turnout is positively influenced by presidential campaigns, though not by all campaign activities. Second, there is some evidence that campaigns have direct effects on the participation of core partisan groups. Finally, the ability of parties to mobilize their core groups has a strong effect on state electoral success that exists over and above the direct effect of campaign activity on electoral outcomes. All in all, we see the results as strong evidence that political mobilization in general and party transfers to the states in particular are an important component for understanding campaign effects in presidential elections. [source] Democratisation, External Exposure and State Food Distribution in The Dominican RepublicBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009KENNETH MITCHELL The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with a ,failed' state, requires regular financial assistance from international funds and remains exposed to external economic pressures. State food distribution in the country, however, adheres to traditional statist policies and institutions that disappeared elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 1980s and 1990s. Relevant literature arguably does not anticipate this outcome. This article proposes that political institutions associated with Dominican democratisation since the late 1970s, particularly strong presidentialism, a stable, non-ideological party system and high voter turnout at elections, provide incentives for a status quo, clientelistic policy in this strategic area of social policy. [source] Better to shop than to vote?BUSINESS ETHICS: A EUROPEAN REVIEW, Issue 3 2001Noreena Hertz This paper begins by reflecting on the current generalised political apathy signalled by low voter turnout and falling party membership. It would appear that people are exercising political choices not at the ballot box but by means of consumer activism. Corporations respond to consumer pressure in a way that governments do not, and are gradually assuming the role of global political actors. But this is a dangerous state of affairs for several reasons. In the first place, social welfare can never be the core activity of corporations. Corporate social motives are commercial, and there is a danger that their social policy decisions will be driven by the logic of the market place rather than social need. Recession, for instance, will curtail their social responsiveness, as will decisions to relocate. It is also the case that partnerships between governments and corporates run the risk of removing checks on the growth and abuse of corporate power. And finally, what price does society have to pay for the growth of corporate benevolence? [source] And the Beat Goes On: Further Evidence on Voting on the Form of County Governance in the Midst of Public CorruptionKYKLOS INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2009Gökhan R. Karahan SUMMARY ,Operation Pretense,' an FBI sting operation conducted in Mississippi during the 1980s, uncovered widespread corruption among the state's county supervisors. The revelations prompted the Mississippi legislature to authorize including on the November 1988 ballot a measure asking voters whether they favored switching to a more centralized ,unit system' of county governance or instead retaining the decentralized ,beat system' then in place in all but two of the state's 82 counties. We examine voters' decisions to participate in that election, in which 47 counties returned majorities for the unit system and 35 counties opted for the status quo. Controlling for participation in the 1988 presidential race and other relevant factors, we find that turnout rates for the beat-unit choice were positively correlated with supervisor corruption. We also find that the corrupt counties' higher voter turnouts were driven mainly by supporters of the corruption-prone beat system. [source] | |||||||||||||