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Political Participation

Political Participation. Who Votes? And Who Do They Vote For?. Where Does Information Come From?. Political scientists do not have actual data on either voter turnout or vote choice Australian Ballot Most of what we know about turnout and vote choice come from either surveys or exit polls.

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Political Participation

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  1. Political Participation Who Votes? And Who Do They Vote For?

  2. Where Does Information Come From? • Political scientists do not have actual data on either voter turnout or vote choice • Australian Ballot • Most of what we know about turnout and vote choice come from either surveys or exit polls

  3. Surveys • One question many election surveys ask is whether the respondent intends to vote (if before the election) or whether the respondent actually voted (if after the election) • Misreport problem • “Social desirability”

  4. Exit Polls • Polls conducted at voting locations to collect better information about voters • Pollster randomly asks voters to fill out brief questionnaires • These questionnaires ask questions about vote choice as well as many questions about demographics

  5. Fundamental Paradox of Participation • Higher education leads to higher participation • Americans are more educated today than they were in the past • Higher registration leads to higher participation • More Americans are registered to vote • *** Why has turnout declined?

  6. Impact of Voter Turnout • Elderly voters turn out at the highest rate • Social Security • Medicare • Young voters turn out at the lowest rate • “Young” issues are neglected at the expense of others • “20 Million Loud”

  7. Demographic Factors and Vote Choice • 2000 Election Exit Polls • http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/epolls/US/P000.html

  8. Increasing Voter Turnout • Should we increase voter turnout? • How could we increase voter turnout?

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