1. Impact of Local Party Organization on Turnout Patterns.
- Author
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Hundsdorfer, Timothy
- Subjects
- *
POLITICAL parties , *POLITICAL science , *ASSOCIATIONS, institutions, etc. , *POLITICAL campaigns , *ELECTIONS ,UNITED States politics & government - Abstract
This paper examines the link between local party organizations at a county level, voter turnout and party outcomes. The theoretical background for this link is examined and an argument is developed that local party organizations should play a successful role in increasing turnout and improving party outcomes. Using data from Illinois' 2002 gubernatorial election, the data show that while the Democratic Party enjoyed increased success in areas where it's local party organization was strong, the Republican Party did not, almost certainly this relates to the unique context of the election. The effect was rather mild, but given the limitation of the methodology, the findings support the hypothesis that local party organizations remain an important source of electoral mobilization in American politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
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