Voter Turnout

This page is for students of PS 240. On 9/17 and 9/19 we discussed voter turnout in the United States.

Possible Exam Questions

1. What is the difference between the VAP and the VEP, which should be used to determine voter turnout, and why?

Readings

--B.T. Gomez, Hansford, T.G. and Krause, G.A. (2007). The Republicans Should Pray for Rain: Weather, Turnout, and Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections. Journal of Politics, 69, 649-663.

Summary: "The relationship between bad weather and lower levels of voter turnout." This article was about rain, and snow, and how they affected voter turnout. rain affected voter turnout more than snow, because, science fact, rain contains more water than snow does. The reason republicans should pray for rain is because lower levels of turnout affect democrats more than republicans. peripheral voters are more likely to be democrats, so that is where the left gets their edge. so the less voters who turnout, the more likely the rupublicans are to win the election. I didnt mention any numbers because i doubt it is important for the test, but the article did mention that in some extreme cases voter turnout decreased by over 3%!

--M.P. McDonald and Popkin, S.L. (2001). The Myth of the Vanishing Voter. The American Political Science Review, 95, 963-974.

Summary: Voter turnout has not been decreasing at an alarming rate, despite reports to the contrary. Rather, the seeming decrease is due to the measurement used to determine turnout. Turnout rates are usually determined using the voting-age population (VAP). However, over the years the percentage of the VAP that is ineligible to vote has increased--this includes noncitizens, felons, and the mentally incompetent. McDonald and Popkin show that when the voting-eligible population (VEP) is used to determine turnout instead of the VAP, there are no real turnout trends after 1972.

--M. Prior (2005). News vs. Entertainment: How Increasing Media Choice Widens Gaps in Political Knowledge and Turnout. American Journal of Political Science, 49, 577-592.

Summary:

--J. Citrin, Schickler, E. and Sides, J. (2003). What if Everyone Voted? Simulating the Impact of Increased Turnout in Senate Elections. American Journal of Political Science, 47, 75.

Summary:

--M.D. Martinez and Gill, J. (2005). The Effects of Turnout on Partisan Outcomes in U.S. Presidential Elections 1960–2000. Journal of Politics, 67, 1248-1274.

Summary:

--J. Sandell and Plutzer, E. (2005). Families, divorce and voter turnout in the US. Political Behavior, 27, 133-162.

Summary: