Abstract
The well-noted decline in the participation of Americans in presidential elections since the early sixties reversed in the 1984 election, although only slightly. An improved “national mood” appears to have contributed little to increasing turnout. However, the gap in participation between the wealthier and poorer widened, while that between men and women narrowed and reversed direction, and belonging to a group associated with an identity affected participation more powerfully. Taken together, these findings indicate shifts in patterns of turnout corresponding to shifts in the lines of politicized interests. Analysis of the participation of blacks finds little evidence for electoral mobilization by the Rainbow Coalition in 1984.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asher, Herbert B. (1984).Presidential Elections and American Politics, 3rd ed. Homewood, Ill.: The Dorsey Press.
Cain, Bruce E., and McCue, Ken (1984). The Efficacy of Registration Drives. Social Science Working Paper No. 531, California Institute of Technology, June.
Chow, Gregory C. (1983).Econometrics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.
Conway, M. Margaret (1985).Political Participation in the United States. Washington, D.C. CQ Press.
Downs, Anthony (1957).An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper & Row.
Kelley, Stanley, Jr., Ayres, Richard E., and Bowen, William G. (1967). Registration and voting: Putting first things first.American Political Science Review 61(1967): 359–379.
Milbrath, Lester W., and Goel, M. L. (1977).Political Participation, 2nd ed. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Miller, Warren E., Miller, Arthur H., and Schneider, Edward J. (1980).American National Election Studies Data Sourcebook: 1952–1978. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Nationwide vote totals for 1984 elections.Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports 43(April 13, 1985): 687.
Pomper, Gerald, with colleagues (1985).The Election of 1984: Reports and Interpretations. Chatham, N.J.: Chatham House Publishers.
Riker, William H., and Ordeshook, Peter C. (1968). A theory of the calculus of voting.American Political Science Review 62 (March): 25–42.
Roberts, Margaret (1983). This could be the election in which black voters ... could hold the key to the presidential race.National Journal 15(Oct. 29, 1983): 2208–2209.
Uhlaner, Carole Jean (1986). Political participation, rational actors, and rationality: A new approach.Political Psychology 7(Sept.): 551–573.
Uhlaner, Carole Jean (Forthcoming). Rational turnout: The neglected role of groups.American Journal of Political Science.
Uhlaner, Carole Jean, Cain, Bruce, E., and Kiewiet, D. Roderick (1987). Political Participation of Ethnic Minorities in the 1980s. California Institute of Technology, Social Science Working Paper No. 647, June.
U.S. Department of Commerce (1985).Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1985, 105th ed. December 1984.
Verba, Sidney, and Nie, Norman H. (1972).Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality. New York: Harper & Row.
Wolfinger, Raymond E., and Rosenstone, Steven J. (1980).Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Uhlaner, C.J. Turnout in recent American presidential elections. Polit Behav 11, 57–79 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993367
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00993367