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Although the role of policy choices as a stimulus of turnout hasbeen confirmed in various studies, none of these studies haveexamined changes in the role of policy choices over a long period oftime; nor have they considered whether the alienation andindifference associated with the choices faced by citizens varyacross class groups. In this paper we consider the policy choicesoffered by candidates as influences on voter turnout and how these--potential benefits'' have changed over time. We expect thatgreater differences in the policy positions of presidentialcandidates are associated with a higher probability of votingthrough the mechanisms of alienation and indifference\cite{Zipp:1985}. We also consider whether alienation andindifference vary across socio-economic class over time as areflection of the various policy choices offered citizens inpresidential elections. To the extent that poorer citizens feelincreasingly alienated and indifferent over a period of increasingeconomic inequality, the policy choices that elites offer mayenhance the class bias of the electorate. And we consider carefully howone would measure alienation and indifference, and we consideralternative ways to model the impact of alienation and indifferenceon turnout. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite numerous studies confirming the class bias of theelectorate, we have only a limited number of studies of changes in class bias over the past several decades--a time ofnotable increases in economic inequality in the U.S--and these fewstudies disagree as to whether or not class bias has increased sincethe 1960s (Leighley and Nagler:1992,Freeman:2004). Moreover, thisliterature has also failed to acknowledge one other demographicchange that has become increasingly relevant to politicalrepresentation, electoral politics and public policy: notableincreases in the population of individuals who are ineligible tovote by virtue of their status as convicted felons or non-citizens.We discuss the theoretical rationale underlying expectations ofincreased class bias; review the methodological challenges inaddressing this question; and use Current Population Survey data toassess changes in class bias since 1972. Our initial analysesindicate that increasing class bias began only in 1988 and that thisincrease is even greater when using our alternative measure of classrepresentation that incorporates the resident voting age population,as opposed to citizen voting age population. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature on political participation demonstrates mixed evidence regarding how, why, and to whom local racial heterogeneity matters. This paper offers a new theoretical perspective and empirical evidence to the puzzles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines voter turnout in the U.S. by extending it to the study on racial context and racial prejudice. The researchers contend that the relationship between racial diversity and voter turnout is conditioned by the socioeconomic context, which shapes the nature of group competition and determines the costs and benefits of voting. They used data taken from the 1990 Citizen Participation Study (CPS) and a special procedure developed by Verba, Schlozman and Brady in 1995.