Showing papers on "Voting behavior published in 1968"

Measures of political attitudes

Abstract: J.P. Robinson, P.R. Shaver, and L.S. Wrightsman, Scale Selection and Evaluation. J.A. Krosnick, Maximizing Questionnaire Quality. K. Knight, Liberalism and Conservatism. S. Feldman, Economic Values and Inequality. S.E. Finkel, L. Sigelman, and S. Humphries, Democratic Values and Political Tolerance. M. Biernat and C.S. Crandall, Racial Attitudes. M.J. Reef and D. Knoke, Political Alienation and Efficacy. J. Citrin and C. Muste, Trust in Government. J. Hurwitz and M. Peffley, International Attitudes. V. Price, Political Information. J.M. Shanks, Political Agendas. H.F. Weisberg, Political Partisanship. H.E. Brady, Political Participation.

Aging, Voting, and Political Interest

Abstract: Cross-sectional data on voter turnout and political interest from 28 American national surveys, and data from a cohort analysis of voter turnout, indicate a pronounced increase in political interest and participation from young adulthood to middle age. Voter turnout apparently remains almost constant from middle age to advanced maturity, and average political interest apparently increases. These findings are related both to theories of political participation and to Cumming's and Henry's notion of disengagement of the aged. Some pitfalls of the use of cross-sectional data to infer changes with aging are discussed.

Suburbia and voting behavior in the london metropolitan area

Abstract: Widely noted spatial regularities in political activity include suburbancentral city differences in party preference and political participation The spatial regularities can be found both in the United States and in Britain In the London metropolitan area both party preference and participation are related to suburbanism in particular, and to other socio-economic dimensions in general, derived from a factor analysis A causal model which attempts to evaluate the relative significance of suburbanism and other socio-economic dimensions in explaining the geography of party! preference and participation suggests that while both aspects of political activity are directly related to suburbanism, suburban-central city differences also operate indirectly through other dimensions to effect geographical differences Suburbanism probably affects party preference in two ways: conversion of erstwhile central city Labor party supporters and immigration of Conservatives from the central city

The Effect of Neighborhood on Voting Behavior

Abstract: Studies of the effects of memberships in social groups on people's tendencies to join particular parties and vote for particular candidates are abundant in the literature of political behavior. However, the effect of social interaction in the development of these tendencies has not received equal attention, although it is important to the more complete understanding of the effects of primary groups and of reference groups' on behavior. We should expect that the greater the exposure of an individual to other members of his own group, the greater the likelihood that they will serve as positive reference groups for his political behavior. This expectation is based on the belief that consistent exposure to the same influence has a reinforcing effect, while cross pressures from conflicting influences tend to neutralize each other.2 One area of contact with other people in which these ideas could be tested is the neighborhood. The effect of homogeneity of population in a precinct (or neighborhood) has been called the

Voting Machines and Voter Participation in Four Michigan Constitutional Revision Referenda

Abstract: HE ANALYSIS of voting and elections has undoubtedly become one of the principal areas of investigation for political scientists, especially among those primarily concerned with American politics. Quite understandably, much of the research on the subject has tended to focus on individual voting behavior and its relationship to psychological and sociological variables.' This research has provided important insights into one of the most fundamental phenomena of democratic politics and undoubtedly further contributions to our understanding of voter choice are forthcoming. There is, however, at least one aspect of American electoral behavior which has not been as thoroughly investigated. The effect of the mechanics of the ballot may not be as intellectually fascinating a topic as, say, the psychological determinants of voting choice, but it nevertheless can have an impact on election results.

Political science and political culture

Abstract: MAY I BEGIN by thanking you for the honor you have done me in electing me to the presidency of the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association. I am especially gratified because in truth this office constitutes the final achievement of my political ambitions and the culmination of my political career. Can it be that all political scientists are frustrated politicians at heart? Perhaps I have just been overstimulated by the presidential politicking that is under way this year. Yet with all our knowledge of politics, campaign strategy, and voting behavior, I must confess that I have no idea how I got elected. Applying election analysis to my experience tells me nothing. Since I came to this region from the mid-West twenty-one years ago, I am first of all a carpetbagger. I was elected the first secretary-treasurer of the Association, serving three years from 1948 through 1950, and later vice president in 1954-55. Then pass thirteen years before I am summoned to office again. Does this make me wheel-horse or dark-horse? Modesty forbids me to explore charisma here; but I certainly have no demonstrated ability as a quick vote-getter. Still and all, General de Gaulle also was kept waiting in the wings for thirteen long years. Perhaps the fact that I went to Europe last Spring was taken as a sign of my imminent availability. But actually I was elected before I could return, which may suggest the trip abroad is not so important as presidential hopefuls think. I was notified of my election in Rome, where I was much affected by the atmosphere of this ancient center of political authority, and where so many men before have seized the levers of power. I would like to find some significance in that, but it seems to have been only simple coincidence. That same day I also visited the Vatican, and while I was in St. Peter's, Pope Paul made an appearance and gave us all his blessing. Surely another auspicious sign! Yet I come today to the end of my term of office without having penetrated any of the mysteries. Perhaps we must draw upon the Poet for an answer:

A brief report on the time of day when people vote

Abstract: Researchers of electoral behavior have studied many major dimensions of the phenomenon. Interpersonal and mass communication influences, however, have certainly not been thoroughly investigated. Since the Lazersfeld group concluded in their 1940 study that the mass media had minimal effect on voting behavior,' little more was done until the 1960 "Great Debates". They afforded an interesting and fruitful opportunity to look into some aspects of television's role in the determination of voting decision making.2 The empirical evidence available on the subject suggests that most of the variation in the decision on which candidate to vote for is probably attributable to factors quite divorced in time from a given election day. Certainly, most of the traditional social-demographic determinants and many of the more immediate psychological determinants have effect months, if not even years or decades, before the day of voting. A number of studies of the 1964 presidential election showed that few persons changed their intended voting behavior because they had heard that Johnson was declared the victor on television some three hours before the polls closed in the Pacific Coast area.3 Despite this, it is reasonable to expect that some part of the voting population is affected in some ways by some information available on Election Day. Even the most polarized elections-those in which the issues appear clearest and the candidates farthest apart on the issues-have been found to include some voters who wait until the final days or day of the campaign before making their

Northern Referenda On Fair Housing: the Response of White Voters

Abstract: to first-class citizenship, Negro Americans seldom have acquired sufficient electoral strength to achieve their objectives without additional support. As a minority group in most Northern localities, Negro voters frequently have attempted to enlist the aid of whites in the pursuit of full equality and freedom. The efforts occasionally have been successful, but there have been growing recent indications that the responses of the white electorate to Negro political aspirations may reveal opposition and resistance rather than cooperation and support. Political ties between Negroes and whites frequently have occupied a prominent role in the struggle for civil rights. In some Northern cities including Detroit, for example, Negro organizations and white reform groups or labor unions have joined to promote common political aims.? Yet, relatively little attention has been devoted to the positions on racial issues of various groups in the electorate. Perhaps fewer studies have been conducted on attitudes or voting behavior regarding questions of discrimination or prejudice in Northern than in Southern cities.2 The gains that have been secured in the urban areas of the North often have seemed to result from an aroused public conscience rather than from the vigorous exertion of white voters. Frequently, moreover, advocates of civil rights have encountered substantial resistance when proposals have been offered for equal educational opportunities, integrated housing, and impartial police practices. On such issues, the merged voting strength of Negroes and white liberals necessary to attain desired electoral goals often has been either lacking or ineffective. In recent years, at least eleven Northern cities and states have held referenda on civil rights issues.3 In eight of these cities or states, proposals in the interest of Negro citizens have been defeated by the voters. The results of recent ballots on specific issues of discrimination, therefore, have provided little encouragement for securing additional progress on civil rights by circumventing the legislative process through direct appeals to the people. Even more importantly, the strength of civil

A Theorem About Voting

Abstract: The objective of this essay is to present a simple decision-theoretic model of individual rational voting in a single-member district, using the simple-majority single-ballot system of election, and to derive the following theorem from the model: The rational voter votes for the candidate (party) associated with the outcome he (the voter) most prefers. The model and theorem may interest students of voting for at least two reasons. First, the theorem contradicts the classical argument that "there is one eventuality in a multiparty system that does not arise in a two-party system: a rational voter may at times vote for a party other than the one he most prefers."' The theorem asserts, by contrast, that what is true for the two-party case is also true for the multi-party case. Thus, the model andtheorem sharply differ from the classical theory of party systems. The ramifications of this conflict may affect some conventional views about the decline of third parties, the differences between two-party and multi-party systems, as well as (perhaps) other topics. Second, within the model, rational voting is a very simple thing. The rational voter needs to know neither the numerical probabilities of the outcomes nor the outcomes' numerical utilities for him. Thus, from the perspective of survey research on voting behavior, the model is realistic in the sense that it does not require the rational voter to make elaborate calculations. This suggests the possibility that studies of the psychology of voting may be integrated with studies of rational (mathematical) decision-making, with prospects of