18th Annual Student Research Conference
Social Science
Economic Adversity and its Impact on Voter Turnout
Cindy N. Thomas
Dr. John Quinn, Faculty Mentor
The behavior of the American electorate has long been a topic of interest to political scientists. Although there has been a consistency since the 1950s in the percentage of the voting age population that votes in national elections, it is still quite relevant to study the causes of this behavior. This research looks at existing theories explaining the phenomenon of voter turnout and seeks to find the best predictor to determine whether or not an individual will vote. While primarily focusing the individual’s financial situation other variables studied include: level of education, race, gender, strength of party identification, and time of vote decision. The time frame studied is national elections from 1996 to the 2000.
Keywords: Economic Adversity, Voting, Tover Turnout, Elections, Political Behavior
Topic(s):Political Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 28-4
Location: VH 1416
Time: 10:30