“…Karnig and Walter () attributed their findings to several factors they saw as depressing incentives for turnout in council‐manager cities: fewer council members, no party cue because of nonpartisan elections, and professional management in these cities made it possible to avoid major conflict and policy debates. In her study, Bridges () found that the council‐manager cities, without exception, had lower voter turnout than the mayor‐council cities, despite the fact that a lower proportion of the population in the council‐manager cities was foreign born, minority, and less educated. Like Karnig and Walter, she also concluded that the use of nonpartisan ballots and at large elections of council members reduce public participation in elections and thus insulate government officials from the demands of lower‐income and ethnic groups.…”