Research Design
To see if the hypothesis is upheld measurements of voter turnout must be gathered for a program evaluation/outcome assessment. Each policy evaluated has its benefits and short comings but, the policy should be studies based on its impact on voter turnout. Voter turnout is a serious issue that has plagued nations. Nations with low turnout can have the legitimacy of their elections held in question and their representation is invalidated. If an ideological group fails to vote then their voice will fail to be heard in government. The evaluation of these are programs because if even one of these solutions work then a country should consider implementing it. In the past researchers have studied a single program compared to a control
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To addresses the research question of untraditional programs to increase voter turnout, databases with records from elections are used. Organizations conduct this by comparing the registered voter International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) is an organization that conducts political research across the world since 1945. “International IDEA uses two measures: the number of registered voters and estimated voting age population (VAP)” (Pintor, Gratschew, & Sullivan, pg. 76, 2002). A big component of voter turnout is measured in IDEA is registration. “Registration is useful in that in many countries it is a prerequisite for voting, so the number of registered voters reflects those who may actually be able to cast a vote” (Pintor, Gratschew, & Sullivan, pg. 76, 2002). While Registration measurable factor that was presented I decide not to use it because it opens the data set to ignore citizens who are eligible but did not register. IDEA is one of my major data sources due to their large volume of information but not my only …show more content…
UK Politico provided data on election for the past 70 years in Great Britain. Their unit of analysis is voter percentage of the population and this measured nationally and per region. Because gambling in elections, only became popular in 1966, the data set shows steady decrees in voter turnout and the impact of election voting has on turnout. UK Politico compiled the data as forming a secondary source of data using polling data from elections. As a quantitative source of data the graph explores trends from year to year. The polling data was gathered from the House of Commons Research Papers. “UK Political Info is a free, non-partisan, resource for voters, journalists, students, and anyone with an interest in UK electoral politics”(UK Politico 2015). The source argues a non-partisan approach giving the perspective that the source has limited the amount of
Since the turn of the twenty first century, in Canada voter turnout has made a significant and consecutive decline. In the last five federal elections on average only sixty-one per cent of eligible voters voted. If each eligible citizen voted in an election the government would be on par with the primary interests of the people. The easiest way to achieve this objective is by implementing a compulsory voting system. Mandatory voting systems are appealing because all citizens are affected by decisions made by the government, so it makes sense to have all those affected apart of the election process. As a result, the voting results would be more representative of the country and that would lead to an increase of stability and legitimacy. It would also be beneficial to Canadians because would cause political parties to address and focus on the needs of every socio-economic level. However, one of biggest problems that accompanies mandatory voting laws is that the choice to exercise the right to vote is taken away. Another primary concern about compulsory voting is that a large number of uninterested and uninformed voters are brought to the polls. Conversely, uninformed voters will become familiar with and learn the polling procedures and electoral system over time and uninterested voters are not forced to mark a name on the ballot. Compulsory voting laws would only make registration and attendance at the polls mandatory, not voting itself. Therefore the freedom to exercise the right to vote or not is still intact. A greater emphasis on alternate voting practices may be established such as electronic or online voting. Positive changes would not only be evident in the policies of political parties but also in the voting procedure. Th...
"Miller light and bud light…either way you end up with a mighty weak beer!" This is how Jim Hightower (a Texan populist speaker) described the choices that the U.S. electorate had in the 2000 elections. This insinuates that there is a clear lack of distinction between the parties. Along with numerous others, this is one of the reasons why the turnout is so low in the U.S. elections. In trying to explain the low figures at the U.S. elections, analysts have called American voters apathetic to indifferent to downright lazy. I disagree that the 50% (in recent elections) of voters that fail to turnout to vote are lazy and that they have just reason not too. I will also show that the problem lies within the system itself in that the institutional arrangements, electoral and governmental, do not create an environment that is conducive to mass participation. I will address these main issues and several others that have an effect on voter participation. In doing so I will compare America to other established democracies.
Loewen, P. J., Milner, H., & Hicks, B. M. (1997). Does Compulsory Voting Lead To More Informed and Engaged Citizens? An Experimental Test. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 41(3), 655-672. Retrieved from http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/tmp/44514596344978336.pdf
Before getting into these theories I feel it is important to provide a few important definitions, as well as, some important information to assure we are all on the same page. First, I would like to address the term, voter turnout. According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary (voter) turnout is the number of people who go to or participate in s...
Karp, Jeffrey A., and Susan A. Banducci. " Political Efficacy and Participation in Twenty-Seven Democracies: How Electoral Systems Shape Political Behaviour." British Journal of Political Science 38 (2008): 311-334. Cambridge Journals. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.
Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase. It’s very unsettling to know that there was a six percent decrease in young voters (ages 18-29) in the 2012 election compared to 2008 (Circle Youth data). In 2007, the National Conference of State Legislatures publicly released a report and data set on voter turnout in democratic countries. This is a quote from that report titled Getting out the Vote, “It should be noted that in 1972, 18-year-olds were added to the eligible voting population, thus decreasing the percentages. Nonetheless, voter turnout in the United States is lower than that of every democracy in the world other than Switzerland and Poland” (33.3)....
Pammett, J., & LeDuc, L. (2003). Explaining turnout decline in Canadian federal elections: A survey of non-voters. Elections Canada, 40.
Pammett, Jon, and Lawrence LeDuc. 2003. Explaining the Turnout Decline in Canadian Federal Elections: A New Survey of Non-Voters. Ottawa: Elections Canada.
The analysis of political behavior operates under the assumption that political behavior is not a special form of human activity, independent of what is known about general social behavior. (Political Behavior, 1968) The majority of political behavioral research is focused on identifying not only an individual’s behavior, but also with predicting the behavior of a group of people. It is understood that these groups do not exist without individuals; therefore, it is the individual dynamic that constitutes a collective group action. This is the focus of political behavioral research. The three widely accepted behavioral models of voter choice are: the sociological model, the social-psychological model, and the rational choice model. These three models diverge in methodology and application of research, but each has provided important data regarding the factors that influence voter choice.
The Extent to Which Voting by Ethnic Minorities Reflects the Voting Behaviour of the Whole Electorate
When America was first established, they had the highest voting turnouts ever in American history. Ever since, America’s voting turn-out has dropped (Fortin). The reason for the high turn outs were because American colonists wanted change from the British’s electoral system. As history writes, American colonist rebel and over time becomes one of the greatest countries ever. Today, Americans are one of the worst countries in vote to registration as they rank 120 in the world (Pintor). Over the summer, I got to learn more about Ohio’s electoral system and voting turn outs in a first hand experience. A decreasing number of voting to registration is not only a national problem, but a local issue as well and there are creative ideas in fixing these
middle of paper ... ...//permanent.access.gpo.gov /lps70995/state.gov/etexts/oecon/index.htm File, T. & Crissey, S. (2010 ). Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008 – Population Characteristics. Retrieved August 21, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-562. “Medicare and the New Health Care Law — What it Means for You.” (2010).
Sanders, D., Clarke, H., Stewart, M. and Whiteley, P. (2005) The 2005 General Election in Great Britain, [Online], Available: http://www.essex.ac.uk/bes/Papers/ec%20report%20final.pdf [Date Accessed: 25/01/2014].
For the purposes of my research paper, I will examine whether educational attainment affects subsequent voter behavior in Latin America. In the context of transitioning democracy, the issue of voter participation is imperative to understanding the quality of democracy in the region. The social stratification of citizens in Latin America that emerged largely as a result of democratic transition has created a large gap between the most educated and least educated citizens. If my outcomes reflect that education does positively correlate to voter participation, this study will reveal an important finding pertaining to the quality of democracy in these developing countries. Uneducated citizens, who usually consist of low-income voters, and comprise
Without the information provided by polls on public preferences, campaigning becomes a ‘guessing game’ without statistical forecasting possibilities; with information, a candidate can formulate camping plans (Stonecash, 2003). Poll results tell candidates where they stand: how well known they are (name recognition), which sectors of the society know them (cluster based), and what people think. Polls also tell candidates about the opinions or attitudes of the electorate, who holds those opinions, and how people with differing preferences are likely to vote. The challenge