Growing into Voting

Growing into Voting
Author: Richard Öhrvall
Publisher: Linköping University Electronic Press
Total Pages: 53
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9176852164

This thesis contains an introduction and four essays that together address the issues of turnout and habitual voting. Although voting is less unequal than other forms of political participation, it is still biased in favour of more socially affluent citizens. One way to achieve more equal participation is to increase the general turnout. This is the implication of the `law of dispersion', formulated by Tingsten in 1937, which states that as turnout increases, participatory equality also increases. In Essay I, co-written with Mikael Persson and Maria Solevid, we revisit Tingsten's law and find new empirical support for it. One possible path to improving general turnout is the formation of voting habits. It is argued by some scholars that voting is a habit formed early on in life, when young people encounter their first elections after coming of age. It is, however, still a matter of debate as to whether voting is an act of habit. Three of the four essays in this thesis tackle this question in various ways. In Essay II, I study voting among young people who encounter their first election in different social contexts depending on their age, and how these differing contexts affect their propensity to vote in their first and second election. In Essay III, I examine whether experiencing a European Parliament election with a low turnout as a first election affects the likelihood of casting a vote in a subsequent national parliamentary election. In Essay IV, co-written with Sven Oskarsson, we study student mock elections, which constitute the first, albeit hypothetical, election experience for many young people. The main result is that the first election a young person faces is not as important as has been claimed in previous research. Regardless of whether the initial experience takes place in a context that encourages turnout or the first election encountered is a low-stimulus election that fails to draw crowds to the polls, there is no substantial impact on turnout in subsequent elections. One implication of this finding is that lowering the voting age is not likely to increase voting rates, not even in the longer term. Den här avhandlingen innefattar ett introduktionskapitel och fyra artiklar som tillsammans behandlar valdeltagande och röstning som en vana. Även om röstning i allmänna val är den mest jämlika formen av politiskt deltagande finns ändå tydliga skillnader i deltagande mellan befolkningsgrupper med olika socioekonomisk bakgrund. Ett sätt att nå ett mer jämlikt deltagande är genom ett högre valdeltagande. Det är innebörden av det lagbundna samband som Tingsten fann år 1937 och som förutsäger att skillnaden i deltagande mellan olika grupper är mindre ju högre valdeltagandet är. I avhandlingens första artikel, samförfattad med Mikael Persson och Maria Solevid, undersöker vi om detta samband fortfarande har empiriskt stöd och finner att så är fallet. En tänkbar väg till ett högre valdeltagande går via ett främjande av vanemässig röstning. En del forskare hävdar nämligen att röstning är en vana och att den vanan formas redan i de första val där en ung person har möjlighet rösta. Huruvida röstning är en vana är dock omdebatterat. Tre av avhandlingens artiklar tar på olika sätt upp den frågan. I avhandlingens andra artikel studerar jag unga personer som beroende på när de är födda får rösta för första gången vid olika åldrar och därmed i skilda social kontexter. Frågan jag ställer är hur dessa skillnader påverkar deras benägenhet att rösta i det valet och i det därpå följande. Vissa unga personer får rösta för första gången efter att ha nått rösträttsåldern i ett Europaparlamentsval där valdeltagandet är lågt. I den tredje artikeln undersöker jag ifall den erfarenheten har någon inverkan på deltagandet i ett därpå följande riksdagsval. I den fjärde artikeln, samförfattad med Sven Oskarsson, studerar vi om de skolval som arrangeras i många skolor har någon inverkan på studenters senare deltagande i riktiga val. Avhandlingens huvudresultat är att deltagande i det första valet en ung person får rösta i saknar den betydelse för framtida valdeltagande som hävdats i tidigare forskning. Oavsett om det första valet äger rum i en kontext som främjar röstning eller om det är ett val som väcker lite intresse, får det ingen substantiell effekt på benägenheten att rösta i följande val. En implikation av detta resultat är att en sänkt rösträttsålder troligen inte skulle ge ett högre valdeltagande, inte ens på längre sikt.

Lowering the Voting Age to 16

Lowering the Voting Age to 16
Author: Jan Eichhorn
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2019-11-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030325415

This book explores the consequences of lowering the voting age to 16 from a global perspective, bringing together empirical research from countries where at least some 16-year-olds are able to vote. With the aim to show what really happens when younger people can take part in elections, the authors engage with the key debates on earlier enfranchisement and examine the lead-up to and impact of changes to the voting age in countries across the globe. The book provides the most comprehensive synthesis on this topic, including detailed case studies and broad comparative analyses. It summarizes what can be said about youth political participation and attitudes, and highlights where further research is needed. The findings will be of great interest to researchers working in youth political socialization and engagement, as well as to policymakers, youth workers and activists.

Making Young Voters

Making Young Voters
Author: John B. Holbein
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2020-02-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108488420

The solution to youth voter turnout requires focus on helping young people follow through on their political interests and intentions.

Is Voting for Young People?

Is Voting for Young People?
Author: Martin P. Wattenberg
Publisher: Longman Publishing Group
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2007
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

"For years, political scientists have told their students that it doesn't make a difference whether they vote because one vote won't make a difference. This book is antidote to that argument." - Richard Niemi, University of Rochester Marty Wattenberg's new book is a brilliant analysis of a big and growing problem in modern democracies; it is also an urgently needed wake-up call. How can we call ourselves a democracy if fewer and fewer people participate in elections and, in addition, if these voters are far from representative of the whole population? The author's recommendations for remedial action, including the adoption of mandatory voting, deserve the most serious consideration. - Arend Lijphart, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, "University of California - San Diego" This text is likely to become one of the seminal works on voting - readers of all levels cannot help but be impressed by the clarity and strength of Wattenberg's answer to why young people do not vote, and his solution will spur debate about the meanings of democracy, rights, and responsibilities. - Sean Matheson, "Knox"" College" This is first-rate scholarship. Wattenberg synthesizes the current scholarship in the field of voter turnout, and integrates competing theories in an accessible manner. Wattenberg's [book] makes an important contribution to our understanding of voter participation, while at the same time speaking directly to young people. - Miki Kittilson, "Arizona"" State University" This is a fine example of putting first rate social science research in the service of larger normative concerns. Not everyone will agree with Wattenberg's prescription, but his description of the disengagement of youngercitizens here and in other advanced democracies, his explanation for their disengagement, and his identification of the consequences of their disengagement are compelling. - Morris Fiorina, "Stanford"" University" Everyone who seeks to understand today's politics, and tomorrow's, ought to read Martin P. Wattenberg's marvelous new book. Today's young adults are not like yesterday's. Even if you had thought they are less interested in politics and in news, you're going to be surprised by how much less involved they are. Democracy here and in Europe faces the disturbing challenge of how to get young people to take part in their governing. - Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, "Harvard"" University"

When You Grow Up to Vote

When You Grow Up to Vote
Author: Eleanor Roosevelt
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Total Pages: 51
Release: 2018-09-25
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1250224810

Eleanor Roosevelt’s book on citizenship for young people now revised and updated for a contemporary audience. In the voice of one of the most iconic and beloved political figures of the twentieth century comes a book on citizenship for the future voters of the twenty-first century. Eleanor Roosevelt published the original edition of When You Grow Up to Vote in 1932, the same year her husband was elected president. The new edition has updated information and back matter as well as fresh, bold art from award-winning artist Grace Lin. Beginning with government workers like firefighters and garbage collectors, and moving up through local government to the national stage, this book explains that the people in government work the voter. Fresh, contemporary, and even fun, When You Grow Up to Vote is the book parents and teachers need to talk to children about how our government is designed to work.

Votes That Count and Voters Who Don’t

Votes That Count and Voters Who Don’t
Author: Sharon E. Jarvis
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2019-06-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0271082887

For decades, journalists have called the winners of U.S. presidential elections—often in error—well before the closing of the polls. In Votes That Count and Voters Who Don’t, Sharon E. Jarvis and Soo-Hye Han investigate what motivates journalists to call elections before the votes have been tallied and, more importantly, what this and similar practices signal to the electorate about the value of voter participation. Jarvis and Han track how journalists have told the story of electoral participation during the last eighteen presidential elections, revealing how the portrayal of voters in the popular press has evolved over the last half century from that of mobilized partisan actors vital to electoral outcomes to that of pawns of political elites and captives of a flawed electoral system. The authors engage with experiments and focus groups to reveal the effects that these portrayals have on voters and share their findings in interviews with prominent journalists. Votes That Count and Voters Who Don’t not only explores the failings of the media but also shows how the story of electoral participation might be told in ways that support both democratic and journalistic values. At a time when professional strategists are pressuring journalists to provide favorable coverage for their causes and candidates, this book invites academics, organizations, the press, and citizens alike to advocate for the voter’s place in the news.

The Vanishing Voter

The Vanishing Voter
Author: Thomas E. Patterson
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2009-09-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0307548678

From the award-winning author of Out of Order—named the best political science book of the last decade by the American Political Science Association—comes this landmark book about why Americans don’t vote. Based on more than 80,000 interviews, The Vanishing Voter investigates why—despite a better educated citizenry, the end of racial barriers to voting, and simplified voter registration procedures—the percentage of voters has steadily decreased to the point that the United States now has nearly the lowest voting rate in the world. Patterson cites the blurring of differences between the political parties, the news media’s negative bias, and flaws in the election system to explain this disturbing trend while suggesting specific reforms intended to bring Americans back to the polls. Astute, far-reaching, and impeccably researched, The Vanishing Voter engages the very meaning of our relationship to our government.

Inside the Mind of a Voter

Inside the Mind of a Voter
Author: Michael Bruter
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2020-05-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 069120201X

An in-depth look into the psychology of voters around the world, how voters shape elections, and how elections transform citizens and affect their lives Could understanding whether elections make people happy and bring them closure matter more than who they vote for? What if people did not vote for what they want but for what they believe is right based on roles they implicitly assume? Do elections make people cry? This book invites readers on a unique journey inside the mind of a voter using unprecedented data from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Africa, and Georgia throughout a period when the world evolved from the centrist dominance of Obama and Mandela to the shock victories of Brexit and Trump. Michael Bruter and Sarah Harrison explore three interrelated aspects of the heart and mind of voters: the psychological bases of their behavior, how they experience elections and the emotions this entails, and how and when elections bring democratic resolution. The authors examine unique concepts including electoral identity, atmosphere, ergonomics, and hostility. From filming the shadow of voters in the polling booth, to panel study surveys, election diaries, and interviews, Bruter and Harrison unveil insights into the conscious and subconscious sides of citizens’ psychology throughout a unique decade for electoral democracy. They highlight how citizens’ personality, memory, and identity affect their vote and experience of elections, when elections generate hope or hopelessness, and how subtle differences in electoral arrangements interact with voters’ psychology to trigger different emotions. Inside the Mind of a Voter radically shifts electoral science, moving away from implicitly institution-centric visions of behavior to understand elections from the point of view of voters.

Vote for US

Vote for US
Author: Joshua A. Douglas
Publisher:
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2019
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1633885100

"An expert on US election law presents an encouraging assessment of current efforts to make our voting system more accessible, reliable, and effective"--

A History of Voting Rights

A History of Voting Rights
Author: Tamra Orr
Publisher: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc.
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2012-05-30
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 161228339X

Have you ever voted on something? You might have voted for pizza for dinner, which movie to watch or who should go first in a game. If you have ever voted, you know how important it is to have a voice in making decisions that are part of your life. The people who created this country knew that too and took many risks to create a country where they could speak freely about what they wanted. The battle for voting rights was a long one—with some people being allowed to vote long before others. Read about who made the decisions and who had to fight for the same rights. Seeing how hard African Americans, Native Americans, and women fought to have the right to vote reminds everyone that voting is part of what created this country—and what will help it keep growing and changing today and in the future. About each book: