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BEFORE THE 1965 Voting Rights Act, most of the literature concerning participation by blacks in southern politics focused on registration. As a result of the enforcement of that Act, previous estimates of Negro registration soon became obsolete, as did the findings of the research conducted before 1965 on Negro participation.1 In a post-1965 study of Negro registration in Alabama, Daniel found that many of the factors previously related to registration either

Recent work by several economists has shown that certain phenomena heretofore considered within the realm of political science are amenable to analysis via the use of "economic" models. In particular, the pioneering works of A. Downs [3] and ] . Buchanan and G. Tullock [2] showed that testable hypotheses about political behavior could be formulated from the assumption of maximizing behavior on the part ofinclividual voters. The purpose of this paper is to apply this economic reasoning to the problem of voter participation. We wish to demonstrate that varying voter turnout at different elections can be explained in part on the basis of rational, wealth-maximizing behavior on the part of the electorate. Superficially, it seems odd that individuals bother to vote at all. The literature often expresses the view that in any issue of wide scope, the insignificant weight of his single vote would induce a ra t i tna l individual to s~tve his time and effort by not voting. ~ The fact that many nevertheless choose to vote is therefore frequently

The aggregate statistics above might suggest the existence of a large (over 4000) slate or near slate vote for PS and AH nominees, and a smaller but still sizable (well over 2000) near straight slate vote for Caucus nominees. The reality, however, is somewhat more complex. (See Tables 4 and 5.) The 1971 Election had much in common with its predecessors. The principal differences Some comparisons and contrasts between the shown in Table 2 are a continuing decline in three elections are shown in Tables 2 and 3. voter turnout, a slow but continuing increase in the number of women candidates, and the If we regard a near straight slate vote as one entry of the Women's Caucus into the for at least 10 out of 14 candidates (including electoral lists.3 Bay), then 47.9% (3510) of the electorate voted a near straight PS and AH slate and The votes received by PS and AH nominees only 24.5% (1805) of the electorate voted for (exclusive of Bay) ranged from 4873 for fewer than four PS and AH endorsed Matthews to 4031 for Prewitt, with a mean of candidates; while 24.2% (1775) of the

An iterative procedure is given which uses aggregate general election data from the past to estimate the size of partisan crossover and the effect of voter turnout on the results of presidential primaries.

Is voting behavior changed by hearing computer predictions of election outcomes? This California study indicates a possible small effect adverse to Democratic party candidates last November.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the bases of support for Mexico'sPartido Revolucionário Institucional. A model is developed which identifies the major and minor variables affecting changes inPRIsupport in the six elections between 1952 and 1967. Throughout the paper the unit of analysis is the state; the dependent variables are voter turnout and the percentage of the total vote in each state received by thePRI.

Research to date on Aboriginal electoral participation - and the participation of Métis and off-reserve First Nations in particular - remains quite limited, leaving those policy makers and groups seeking to increase Aboriginal voter turnout to make assumptions about Aboriginal voter turnout that may or may not be valid. Drawing on original quantitative survey data collected in northern Saskatchewan, the authors of this paper demonstrate that Aboriginal groups differ from each other in federal voter turnout; that the federal turnout differences between on-reserve First Nations and Métis peoples (but not on- and off-reserve First Nations) largely reflect socio-demographic differences; and that on-reserve First Nations are less likely to report federal voting than non-Aboriginal peoples, even after other variables are taken into account. The authors suggest that it is important to consider local context and history in addition to socio-demographic and “voting resource” variables in order to understand - and, potentially, to increase - Aboriginal federal turnout levels.

Zugleich: Universität Köln, Dissertation, 1967

Inspection of the effec of socioeconomic status on the organizational membership of Negroes and whites indicates that the konwn relationship between social class and membership is much less pronounced for Negroes. Lower-class Negroes are more likely to belong to organizations than lower-class whites, while middle-class whites are slighty more likely to belong than middle-class Negroes. Upper-class whites, in turn, are much more likely to be "joiners" than their Negro Counterparts. Similar comparisons of Negroes and whites show that Negroes are, without exception, more likely to participate actively in associations. Examination of membership in different kinds of organizations reveals that Negroes are more likely to belong to political and church groups than their white counterparts and equally likely to belong to civic groups. Finally, evidence on Negro voting in presidential elections since 1952 points to a remarkable increase in voter turnout, especially in comparison with the stable turnout of the nati...

Self-governance, the cornerstone of our political system, requires commitment, understanding and skill. Poor voter turnout, corruption in office and lack of public confidence form a self-fueling cycle that erupts periodically in indictments and removal from public office. While the system itself needs improvement, our schools, especially the intermediate schools, can do much more than they have done to help young people build the commitment, understanding and skills that can make it work better. They can, in short, provide a forceful, practical program in political education.

The object of this note is to demonstrate that generalizations about political participation may be invalid when applied to “developing” or “transitional” societies. Specifically, the relationship between rates of voter turnout and levels of education for urban Chinese in Malaya is not consistent with results reported for Western societies.A geographical classification of bibliographic entries in Lester Milbrath's Political Participation discloses a very interesting statistic: only 3 of the 288 listed entries concern the transitional societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The lack of data on developing areas may, in large measure, explain the emphasis placed on studies of political participation in North America and Western Europe. Although there is more research on transitional societies today, most studies still focus on advanced industrial societies. The validity of the generalizations presented in Political Participation, therefore, is restricted to North America and Western Europe.Using data collected in Malaya (1957), I examine four of Milbrath's hypotheses. These include:(1) higher education increases participation (p.122);(2) middle-aged persons participate more than young or old persons (p. 134);(3) men are more likely to participate than women (p. 133); and(4) religion affects participation (p. 137).

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.