Pivotality and Turnout
Evidence from a Field Experiment in the Aftermath of a Tied Election
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6342148 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ryan D Enos (0000-0002-5855-7464), Anthony Fowler (0000-0001-6566-2556) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 309-319 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Science Research and Methods (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2049-8470 • E-ISSN: 2049-8489 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/psrm.2014.5 |
| OpenAlex | W2159301070 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 47 |
Many citizens abstain from the political process, and the reasons for this abstention are of great interest and importance. Most scholars and pundits assume that greater electoral competition and the increased chance of pivotality will motivate citizens to participate. We test this hypothesis through a large-scale field experiment that exploits the rare opportunity of a tied election for major political office. Informing citizens that an upcoming election will be close has little mobilizing effect. Any effect that we do detect is concentrated among a small set of frequent voters. The evidence suggests that increased pivotality is not a solution to low turnout and the predominant models of turnout focusing on pivotality are of little practical use
Competition (biology · Computer security · Economics · Exploit · Field (mathematics · General election · Geography · Political economy · Political process · Political science · Politics · Scale (ratio · Set (abstract data type · Test (biology · Turnout · Voting · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies
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| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,5 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 25 |