Low voter turnout is a serious democratic problem for five reasons: (1) It means unequal turnout that is systematically biased against less well-to-do citizens. (2) Unequal turnout spells unequal political influence. (3) U.S. voter turnout is especially low, but, measured as percent of voting-age population, it is also relatively low in most other countries. (4) Turnout in midterm, regional, local, and supranational elections -- less salient but by no means unimportant elections -- tends to be especially poor. (5) Turnout appears to be declining everywhere. The inequality problem can be solved by institutional mechanisms that maximize turnout. One option is the combination of voter-friendly registration rules, proportional representation, infrequent elections, weekend voting, and holding less salient elections concurrently with the most important national elections. The other option, which can maximize turnout by itself, is compulsory voting. Its advantages far outweigh the normative and practical objections to it. This article has been removed from the eRepository website since it is now published: American Political Science Review vol. 91 (March 1997): 1-14.

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Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma

Low voter turnout is a serious democratic problem for five reasons: (1) It means unequal turnout that is systematically biased against less well-to-do citizens. (2) Unequal turnout spells unequal political influence. (3) U.S. voter turnout is especially low, but, measured as percent of voting-age population, it is also relatively low in most other countries. (4) Turnout in midterm, regional, local, and supranational elections—less salient but by no means unimportant elections—tends to be especially poor. (5) Turnout appears to be declining everywhere. The problem of inequality can be solved by institutional mechanisms that maximize turnout. One option is the combination of voter-friendly registration rules, proportional representation, infrequent elections, weekend voting, and holding less salient elections concurrently with the most important national elections. The other option, which can maximize turnout by itself, is compulsory voting. Its advantages far outweigh the normative and practical objections to it.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0003055400230980

Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma Presidential Address, American Political Science Association, 1996

Figures Tables Preface The authors Introduction 1. Confronting the puzzles of voter turnout 2. A new approach to the calculus of voting 3. The role of generational replacement in turnout change 4. Rational responses to electoral competition 5. Explaining turnout change in 22 countries 6. Electoral competition and the individual citizen 7. Understanding turnout decline 8. The turnout puzzles revisited Appendices: A. The surveys employed in this book B. Aggregate data for established democracies, 1945-9 C. Supplementary findings Bibliography Author index Subject index.

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Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945

Part I. Introduction: 1. Do rules matter? 2. Classifying electoral systems 3. Evaluating electoral systems Part II. The Consequences for Voting Behavior: 4. Party systems 5. Social cleavages 6. Party loyalties 7. Turnout Part III. The Consequences for Political Representation: 8. Women 9. Ethnic minorities 10. Constituency service Part IV. Conclusions: 11. The impact of electoral engineering.

Electoral Engineering: Voting Rules and Political Behavior

Explaining voter turnout: A review of aggregate-level research

In low-information elections, voters are often faced with the task of choosing from a list of unknown candidates. By examining a set of low-information elections where candidate photographs were displayed on the ballot, we test how first impressions of candidates can influence election outcomes. We find that attractive candidates are more likely to be attributed the qualities associated with successful politicians and these trait inferences, based on facial appearances, influence the outcomes of elections. We also find that these trait inferences are based on physical characteristics of the candidates, such as age, race and ethnicity, evident from a photograph. Therefore, first impressions can be important determinants of election outcomes, especially in low-information elections.

/pdf/ballot-photographs-as-cues-in-low-information-elections-3iqddv3vy0.pdf

Ballot Photographs as Cues in Low-Information Elections

Acknowledgements 1. Local Elections - A Case of Mystery, Intrigue and Neglect 2. The evolution of Local Democracy 3. The Local Electoral System 4. Turnout in Local Elections 5. Contestation, Candidates and Incumbency 6. Party Competition in Local Elections 7. Votes, Seats and Local Electoral Outcomes 8. Major Parties and Local Elections 9. Minor Parites and Local Elections 10. Local Elections and National Politics 11. Local By-elections - Parochial Contests or National Electoral Indicators 12. Local Elections and Representations 13. Conclusions Bibliography

Local Elections in Britain

Seasonal factors, voter fatigue and the costs of voting

The European Parliament elections in June 2004 coincided with local elections in many parts of England. In four regions of the country these elections were conducted entirely by postal ballots; in four other regions traditional methods of polling were used. Overall turnout was higher where all-postal voting was in place, but having local in addition to European elections made an independent and significant contribution to the level of electoral participation in all postal and non-postal regions alike. The pattern of party choice at the two types of contest also varied considerably. The three major political parties together took a much larger share of the overall vote at the local than at the European elections, and each independently ‘lost’ a sizeable number of its local votes to smaller parties. Aggregate level analysis suggests that voters assess the importance of electoral contests along a continuum and, in Britain in 2004 at least, treated local elections as less ‘second-order’ than pan-European ones.

Colin Rallings

Papers

Ballot Photographs as Cues in Low-Information Elections

Local Elections in Britain

Seasonal factors, voter fatigue and the costs of voting

Not All ‘Second-Order’ Contests are the Same: Turnout and Party Choice at the Concurrent 2004 Local and European Parliament Elections in England*

Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies