Cross National Determinants of Participation and Voting in Five Democracies Across Europe and North America
Mentor 1
Jennifer Collins
Mentor 2
John Blakeman
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
24-4-2015 10:30 AM
End Date
24-4-2015 11:45 AM
Description
The purpose of this research project is to further the understanding of the connection between interest in politics and voter turnout. An extensive body of research exists on voter turnout in democracies. This project seeks to contribute to this field by studying the relationship between voter views of their political systems and voter turnout. The working hypothesis I am testing is that high levels of interest in politics will be correlated with high voter turnout. While a relationship between these two things may seem obvious, the hypothesis merits empirical testing. The countries included in the study are the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Mexico. I chose them because they represent variation in terms of electoral systems as well as, levels of economic development. Quantitative data for this study was obtained from the following sources: World Values Survey, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Transparency International, and The World Factbook. I used regression analysis to analyze the data. The independent variables measured individual motivations and interest in politics and the dependent variable was an average voter turnout of elections between 2005 and 2010. In order to control for outside influences, the following control variables were included in the analysis: type of electoral system, level of corruption, and economic development. At this time, the research is still being conducted, so the results have yet to be determined. In conclusion, these findings could be translated to larger studies surrounding voter turnout in democratic countries. Additionally, the findings of this research, pending the results, could be used to increase voter turnout through increasing political interest of voters.
Cross National Determinants of Participation and Voting in Five Democracies Across Europe and North America
Union Wisconsin Room
The purpose of this research project is to further the understanding of the connection between interest in politics and voter turnout. An extensive body of research exists on voter turnout in democracies. This project seeks to contribute to this field by studying the relationship between voter views of their political systems and voter turnout. The working hypothesis I am testing is that high levels of interest in politics will be correlated with high voter turnout. While a relationship between these two things may seem obvious, the hypothesis merits empirical testing. The countries included in the study are the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Mexico. I chose them because they represent variation in terms of electoral systems as well as, levels of economic development. Quantitative data for this study was obtained from the following sources: World Values Survey, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Transparency International, and The World Factbook. I used regression analysis to analyze the data. The independent variables measured individual motivations and interest in politics and the dependent variable was an average voter turnout of elections between 2005 and 2010. In order to control for outside influences, the following control variables were included in the analysis: type of electoral system, level of corruption, and economic development. At this time, the research is still being conducted, so the results have yet to be determined. In conclusion, these findings could be translated to larger studies surrounding voter turnout in democratic countries. Additionally, the findings of this research, pending the results, could be used to increase voter turnout through increasing political interest of voters.
