The Educative Effects of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6180259 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Caroline J Tolbert, Caroline Tolbert (0000-0002-5229-6371, Kent State University), Daniel A Smith (0000-0003-0621-1098, University of Florida) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 283-309 |
| Publication date | 2005-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Politics Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1532-673X • E-ISSN: 1552-3373 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1532673x04271904 |
| OpenAlex | W2171840397 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 75 |
| References cited | 54 |
Scholars have begun examining what Progressive reformers called the educative effects of direct democracy, especially the effect ballot initiatives have on voter turnout. Research based on aggregate-level voter age population (VAP) turnout data indicates that ballot measures increase turnout in low-information midterm elections but not in presidential elections. We analyze the impact of ballot initiative use on voter turnout from 1980 through 2002 using voter eligible population (VEP) turnout rates. Cross-sectional time-series analysis reveals that (a) ballot initiatives increase turnout in midterm as well as presidential elections and (b) the turnout effect in midterm and especially presidential elections is considerably larger than previously thought. On average, turnout in presidential elections increases by 0.70% with each initiative on the ballot, whereas turnout in midterm elections increases by 1.7%, all else equal. Given the closeness of the Electoral College contests, it is possible that the mobilizing effects of statewide ballot questions could be the determining factor in future presidential elections
Ballot · Closeness · Democracy · Demographic economics · Direct democracy · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Presidential system · Sociology · Turnout · Voter turnout · Voting · Demography · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance · Social Media and Politics
Salient Ballot Measures and the Millennial Vote
Bringing direct democracy back in
Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy
Direct Democracy Worldwide
Direct democracy in the digital age
Does direct democracy increase civic virtues? A systematic literature review
The next generation? A reexamination of religious influence on Mexican-American attitudes toward same-sex marriage
Persuasion and ballot initiatives
Moral Politicking
Venue Effects
Direct Democracy and Party Membership
The effect of direct democracy on the social stratification of political participation
Who Does Not Participate in Elections in Europe and Why Is This
The effect of information provision on popular support for gender-related legislation
Does direct democracy make for better citizens? A cautionary warning based on cross-country evidence
Some thoughts about referendums, representative democracy, and separation of powers
Early voting, direct democracy, and voter mobilization
Tapping the untapped potential? A research note on salient ballot initiatives and youth turnout in the 2022 midterm election
Connecting a missing link between participation in administration and political participation
Deliberating about Affirmative Action
Processos de democracia direta
Do direct-democratic procedures lead to higher acceptance than political representation
Mobilized by Direct Democracy
Economic Inequality and Campaign Participation
Voter experience and ballot language framing effects
Natural Experiments Based on Geography
Direct Democracy, Educative Effects, and the (Mis)Measurement of Ballot Measure Awareness
Does an Active Use of Mechanisms of Direct Democracy Impact Electoral Participation? Evidence from the U.S. States and the Swiss Cantons
Electoral Competition and the Frequency of Initiative Use in the U.S. States
Direct Democracy and Individual Interest Group Membership
State Electoral Institutions and Voter Turnout In Presidential Elections, 1920–2000
The Effect of State Legislative Term Limits on Voter Turnout
Labor Unions and Voter Turnout in the American States
Morality Politics, Direct Democracy, and Turnout
You Want to Spend My Money How? Framing Effects on Tax Increases via Ballot Propositions
The Instrumental and Educative Effects of Ballot Measures
Familiar Choices
Does Measurement Matter? The Case of VAP and VEP in Models of Voter Turnout in the United States
A Functionalist Approach to Democratic Innovations
Representation and Direct Democracy in the United States
Political Engagement, Mobilization, and Direct Democracy
Direct democracy, personality, and political interest in comparative perspective
Are Blacks and Latinos Responsible for the Passage of Proposition 8? Analyzing Voter Attitudes on California’s Proposal to Ban Same-Sex Marriage in 2008
Engaged by the Initiative? How the Use of Citizen Initiatives Increases Voter Turnout
Changing with the Times
Why People Decide to Participate in State Politics
The Effect of Direct Democracy on Turnout
One More Piece to Make Us Puzzle
Do Ballot Initiatives Increase General Political Knowledge
Does Economic Inequality Depress Electoral Participation? Testing the Schattschneider Hypothesis
When Ballot Issues Matter
Are Ballot Initiative Outcomes Influenced by the Campaigns of Independent Groups? A Precinct-Randomized Field Experiment Showing That They Are
Direct Democracy
Mobilizing the Seldom Voter
The Impact of Petition Signing on Voter Turnout
How Initiatives Don’t Always Make Citizens
Collective Descriptive Representation and Black Voter Mobilization in 2008
The Influence of Direct Democracy on Political Interest, Electoral Turnout and Other Forms of Citizens’ Participation in Swiss Municipalities
What happens after a local referendum? The effect of direct democratic decision-making on protest intentions
Implementing local participatory institutions
The use of local direct democracy in the Czech Republic
Integrating participatory institutions into the traditional representative and bureaucratic model of public governance
Election Frequency and Voter Turnout
Is Spending More Potent For or Against a Proposition? Evidence from Ballot Measures
Direct Democracy and Political Trust
Individual Differences and Political Contexts –The Role of Personality Traits and Direct Democracy in Explaining Political Protest
Moral Politics
Can a Social Issue Proposition Increase Political Knowledge? Campaign Learning and the Educative Effects of Direct Democracy
Initiative Campaigns
Voting Technology, Ballot Measures, and Residual Votes
Monumental Decisions
Early Voting and Turnout
Citizens as veto players
Stumbling block or stepping stone? The influence of direct democracy on individual participation in parliamentary elections
Absolutely Relative
The shaping of Southern politics
Southern politics in State and Nation
Digital Divide
Where Have All the Voters Gone?
Direct Legislation
Educated by Initiative
Demanding Choices
Racial Diversity, Voter Turnout, and Mobilizing Institutions in the United States
Bowling alone
The Reasoning Voter
Faces of Inequality
Democracy and Deliberation
Deliberative Democracy and Beyond
California Recall Voting
Minority Participation and the California Recall
Introduction—Recalling the Recall
Civic engagement in American democracy
Giving Voters a Voice
Fiscal Effects of the Voter Initiative
Continuity and Change in Electoral Politics, 1893-1928
The Initiative, Referendum and Recall
A Racial/Ethnic Diversity Interpretation of Politics and Policy in the States of the U.S
Legislative Response to the Threat of Popular Initiatives
The Effect of Direct Democracy on the Size and Diversity of State Interest Group Populations
Preferences, Fiscal Policies, and the Initiative Process
Ballot Initiatives and the Democratic Citizen
Gun Behind the Door? Ballot Initiatives, State Policies and Public Opinion
Problems with a Methodology Used to Evaluate the Voter Initiative
When Does Government Limit the Impact of Voter Initiatives? The Politics of Implementation and Enforcement
The Electoral Allure of Direct Democracy
Homeward Bound
Enhancing Civic Engagement
Measuring the Effect of Direct Democracy on State Policy
Evolution in State Governance Structures
Unraveling the Effects of the Internet on Political Participation
The Initiative to Party
The Contingent Effects of Ballot Initiatives and Candidate Races on Turnout
Minority Voices and Citizen Attitudes about Government Responsiveness in the American States
Democracy, Institutions and Attitudes about Citizen Influence on Government
The Effect of Referendums on Democratic Citizens
The Effects of Ballot Initiatives on Voter Turnout in the American States
Overturning Term Limits
Rationalizing the California Recall
Direct Democracy and Institutional Realignment in the American States
"People's Rule" in Oregon, 1910
Shortcuts Versus Encyclopedias
The Myth of the Vanishing Voter
Representative Democracy and State Building in the Progressive Era
American Voter Turnout in Comparative Perspective
The Effects of Initiatives On Voter Turnout
| Unique citing works | 75 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,75 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2025 (20) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 73 |