The Implications of Nonvoting for Democracy in the United States

Bennett, Stephen Earl; Resnick, David

doi:10.2307/2111398

Cited by 124 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Berinsky (2002) finds that nonvoters are more liberal on social welfare policy questions than are voters. Similarly, Bennett and Resnick (1990) find that nonvoters are "slightly more in favor of an increased government role in the domestic arena" (p. 789).…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Perverse Consequences of Electoral Reform in the United States

Berinsky

2005

American Politics Research

254

190

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A number of electoral reforms have been enacted in the United States in the past three decades that are designed to increase turnout by easing restrictions on the casting of ballots. Both proponents and opponents of electoral reforms agree that these reforms should increase the demographic representativeness of the electorate by reducing the direct costs of voting, thereby increasing turnout among less-privileged groups who, presumably, are most sensitive to the costs of coming to the polls. In fact, these reforms have been greatly contested because both major political parties believe that increasing turnout among less-privileged groups will benefit Democratic politicians. I review evidence from numerous studies of electoral reform to demonstrate that reforms designed to make it easier for registered voters to cast their ballots actually increase, rather than reduce, socioeconomicbiases in the composition of the voting public. I conclude with a recommendation that we shift the focus of electoral reform from an emphasis on institutional changes to a concentration on political engagement.

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Perverse Consequences of Electoral Reform in the United States

Berinsky

2005

American Politics Research

254

190

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“…This suspicion is wide of the mark. Much of the research by Bennett and Resnick (1989) and Abramson, Aldrich and Rohde (1998) was based on validated measures of turnout.…”

Section: Rebuttalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Political Implications of Higher Turnout

Highton

Wolfinger

2001

Brit. J. Polit. Sci.

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“…Another line of research relies on individual-level analyses and also discredits the presumed linkage between higher turnout and more Democratic votes (Wolfinger and Rosenstone 1980;Bennett and Resnick 1990;Gant and Lyons 1993;Highton and Wolfinger 2001). These studies survey the public to compare the issue positions and candidate preferences of voters and nonvoters.…”

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confidence: 99%