Who Are Nonvoters? Profiles from the 1990 Senate Elections

Ragsdale, Lyn; Rusk, Jerrold G.

doi:10.2307/2111572

Cited by 40 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We should therefore be suspicious of any explanation for low turnout that relies on the assumption that disadvantage is correlated with satisfaction; in fact, survey data consistently indicate that abstainers are less satisfied with the state of democracy than are voters. We know, for example, that young American non-voters tend to be considerably less satisfied than voters about the state of their democracy (Wattenberg, 2008) while alienated all-age Americans are ''less likely to vote, even after controlling for all of the other demographic factors that affect voter turnout'' (Southwell, 2008: 135. See also Brody and Page, 1973;Pettersen, 1989;Nownes, 1992, Teixeira 1992Ragsdale and Rusk, 1993). Similar results are found in studies undertaken in Britain (Henn et al, 2005, 573), Canada (Pammet and Le Duc, 2003: 6), and Norway (Pettersen, 1989: 354-5).…”

Section: Abstaining Democratic Choice and Self-governmentsupporting

confidence: 62%

Deliberative Democracy and Compulsory Voting

Hill¹

2013

Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Deliberative democrats tend to be skeptical about elections as mechanisms for deliberation, and with good reason. But the reality is that elections will likely persist as the primary means by which we make decisions-indirectly-about how we are governed. By contrast, deliberative democracy will likely continue in a supplementary role because of its feasibility problem, something that many pragmatic deliberative democrats now accept. It therefore pays to reflect on what kinds of elections best serve deliberative ideals and sensibilities. Although some deliberative democrats have rejected the idea of compulsory voting, I argue that they should be more open to the idea due to the fact that compulsory voting elections are more inclusive and less subject to distortions of unequal political power than are voluntary ones. They are also better able to reflect the objective interests of voters and to protect the conditions necessary for deliberation to occur.

show abstract

Section: Abstaining Democratic Choice and Self-governmentsupporting

confidence: 62%

Deliberative Democracy and Compulsory Voting

Hill¹

2013

Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…War is the product of miscalculation or loss of control (Levy, 1983). Nonvoting is caused by ignorance, indifference, dissatisfaction, or inactivity (Ragsdale & Rusk, 1993). Voting decisions are influenced by either high levels of information or by the use of candidate gender as a proxy for social information (McDermott, 1997).…”

Section: Cross-case Technique With Binary Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is There a (Viable) Crucial-Case Method?

Gerring

2007

Comparative Political Studies

434

191

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Case study researchers use diverse methods to select their cases, a matter that has elicited considerable comment and no little consternation. Of all these methods, perhaps the most controversial is the crucial-case method, first proposed by Harry Eckstein several decades ago. Since Eckstein's influential essay, the crucial-case approach has been used in a multitude of studies across several social science disciplines and has come to be recognized as a staple of the case study method. Yet the idea of any single case playing a crucial (or critical) role is not widely accepted. In this article, the method of the crucial case is explored, and a limited defense (somewhat less expansive than that envisioned by Eckstein) of that method is undertaken. A second method of case-selection, closely associated with the logic of the crucial case, is introduced: the pathway case.

show abstract

“…But the periphery is not devoid of predispositions. Ragsdale and Rusk (1993) argue that nonvoters are themselves somewhat heterogeneous. Some subtypes of nonvoters are actually relatively educated and informed, but merely indifferent to a particular electoral contest.…”

Section: Calculating the Effects Of Full Turnoutmentioning

confidence: 99%