Abstract
Undue emphasis on the decline of voter turnout in national elections and its interpretation as indicative of political malaise are likely to make for erroneous understanding of the American democracy. Evidence from studies of the national electorate conducted between 1952 and 1978 shows that the explanation for declining turnout is not to be found in commensurate diminution in political interest or involvement, or in a decreasing sense of civic duty, feeling of political efficacy or trust in government. Where patterns of change have coincided, further analysis indicates an absence of possible cause-and-effect relationships. The decline has been chiefly limited to those population sectors characterized by lack of interest or involvement in national partisan politics. The article concludes with a projection of likely developments in political participation, including turnout, in future presidential elections.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Beck, Paul (1974). “A Socialization Theory of Partisan Realignment.” In R. Niemi,The Politics of Future Citizens. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Boyd, Richard W. (1980). “Structural and Attitudinal Explanations of Turnout.” Unpublished manuscript, April 1980.
Campbell, Angus, et al. (1960).The American Voter. New York: John Wiley Reprint. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1976. Chapter 15, “Agrarian Political Behavior,” pp. 402–40.
Ferejohn, John A., and Morris P. Fiorina (1979). “The Decline in Turnout in Presidential Elections.” Presented at the Conference on Voter Turnout, San Diego, California.
Jones, Ruth S. (1980a). “State Public Financing and the State Parties.” In Michael J. Malbin, Ed.,Parties, Interest Groups, and Campaign Finance Laws. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, pp. 283–321.
-- (1980b). “The Partisan Impact of State Public Campaign Financing Laws: Collection and Allocation.” Presented at the 1980 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Levitin, Teresa E., and Warren E. Miller (1979). “Ideological Interpretations of Presidential Elections.”American Political Science Review 73: 751–71.
Miller, Arthur H., and Warren E. Miller (1977). “Partisanship and Performance: ‘Rational’ Choice in the 1976 Presidential Election.” Presented at the 1977 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C.
——, Warren E. Miller, Alden S. Raine, and Thad A. Brown (1976). “A Majority Party in Disarray: Policy Polarization in the 1972 Election.”American Political Science Review 70: 753–78. See also Miller, Arthur H. and Warren E. Miller (1976). “Ideology in the 1972 Election: Myth or Reality: A Rejoinder.”American Political Science Review 70: 832-49.
Miller, Warren E. (1979). “Confidence in Government or a Crisis in Leadership?”Public Opinion 2: 9–15, 60.
——, A. H. Miller and E. J. Schneider (1980).The American National Election Studies Data Sourcebook, 1952–1978. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Shively, W. Phillips (1979). “The Development of Party Identification among Adults: Exploration of a Functional Model.”The American Political Science Review 73: 1039–1054.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (1975).Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, Part II, p. Y 1–47. Washington, D.C.: GPO.
—— (1978).Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1978. Washington, D.C.: GPO.
Weisberg, Herbert F. (1979). “The Validity of Voter Registration and Turnout Reports in Surveys.” Presented at the Conference on Voter Turnout, San Diego, California.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Conference on National Elections 1980: Continuity and Change in American Politics, Washington University, St. Louis, May 1980.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Miller, W.E. Disinterest, disaffection, and participation in presidential politics. Polit Behav 2, 7–32 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989754
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00989754
Keywords
- Political Participation
- Presidential Election
- Political Interest
- Voter Turnout
- National Election