Journal Articles

Initiative Campaigns: Direct Democracy and Voter Mobilization

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Previous research has found that the campaigns of candidates running for office provide information to voters and can increase turnout. Scholarly research has also found that states with initiatives and referendums appearing on the ballot have higher voter turnout, especially in midterm elections. However, actual initiative campaigns are rarely measured. Drawing on national survey data and state contextual factors, we use a multilevel modeling strategy to test whether Americans are more likely to vote in recent midterm and presidential elections when there is increased spending in initiative and candidate campaigns, as well as more frequent use of direct democracy. The research includes a number of methodological advancements from earlier work on turnout and direct democracy (including a control for endogeneity) by restricting the analysis to initiative states only. The analysis suggests initiative campaigns not only increase individual level turnout but also especially benefit the lower educated.

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Detail Information

Series Title

American Politics Research

Call Number

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Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publication., 2009

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

1532-673x

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Vol. 37, No. 1, January 2009.pp. 155-192

Subject(s)

Voter Turnout
Ballot initiatives and referenda
Direct democracy
Electoral campaigns
Mobilization
Initiative Campaigns

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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