scholarly journals A polygenic score for educational attainment partially predicts voter turnout

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (50) ◽  
pp. e2022715118
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Dawes ◽  
Aysu Okbay ◽  
Sven Oskarsson ◽  
Aldo Rustichini
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Adoption Studies ◽  
Polygenic Score ◽  
Family Analysis ◽  
Swedish Sample

Twin and adoption studies have shown that individual differences in political participation can be explained, in part, by genetic variation. However, these research designs cannot identify which genes are related to voting or the pathways through which they exert influence, and their conclusions rely on possibly restrictive assumptions. In this study, we use three different US samples and a Swedish sample to test whether genes that have been identified as associated with educational attainment, one of the strongest correlates of political participation, predict self-reported and validated voter turnout. We find that a polygenic score capturing individuals’ genetic propensity to acquire education is significantly related to turnout. The strongest associations we observe are in second-order midterm elections in the United States and European Parliament elections in Sweden, which tend to be viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the media and thus present a more information-poor electoral environment for citizens to navigate. A within-family analysis suggests that individuals’ education-linked genes directly affect their voting behavior, but, for second-order elections, it also reveals evidence of genetic nurture. Finally, a mediation analysis suggests that educational attainment and cognitive ability combine to account for between 41% and 63% of the relationship between the genetic propensity to acquire education and voter turnout.

Voting Together

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Wong
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Saint Paul ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Skills ◽  
Identity Narratives ◽  
Hmong Americans ◽  
Hmong American

This book examines the political experience of the Hmong Americans immigrants, who first came to the United States as refugees of Vietnam War. In growing numbers, candidates of Hmong American ethnicity have competed successfully in elections to win seats in local and state legislative bodies in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. At the same time, average levels of Hmong American educational attainment still lag far behind levels in the U.S. population and high rates of poverty persist. Their relatively high levels of political engagement defy the logic of resource-based theories of voting, which explain a greater propensity of some individuals to vote resources available to them, such as higher levels of educational attainment or income compared to others Intergenerational mechanisms of social voting underlie political participation of Hmong Americans. Individuals are mobilized to vote through intergenerational social connections already established in associational, neighborhood, ethnic community, family, and clan networks. Identity narratives adapted to modern-day circumstances and popular notions from ancient oral texts serve to motivate collective action to redress of disparities of economic opportunity and cultural misrecognition. Only when local institutions effectively teach civic and political skills to immigrants and their descendants can political participation be sustained and deepened to combine voting with effective policy advocacy, the building of alliances across racial-ethnic divides, and collective action. The research included interviews of community leaders and grassroots residents from diverse backgrounds, primarily in three cities: Fresno, California; Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Hickory, North Carolina.

İSí Se Puede! Latino Candidates and the Mobilization of Latino Voters

2007 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATT A. BARRETO
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Mayoral Elections ◽  
The Past

Traditional studies of political participation assume an electoral environment in which voters decide between two White candidates, and find Latino citizens less politically engaged. Given the growth in the number of Latino candidates for office over the past 20 years, this article tests whether ethnicity impacts Latino voting behavior. I argue that the presence of a Latino candidate mobilizes the Latino electorate, resulting in elevated voter turnout and strong support for the co-ethnic candidates. Although some research provides a theoretical basis for such a claim, this article brings together a comprehensive body of empirical evidence to suggest that ethnicityissalient for Latinos and provides a coherent theory that accounts for the empowering role of co-ethnic candidates. Analysis of recent mayoral elections in five major U.S. cities reveals that Latinos were consistently mobilized by co-ethnic candidates.

scholarly journals Education, early life, and political participation: New evidence from a sibling model

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205316802095831
Author(s):  
Barry C. Burden ◽  
Pamela Herd ◽  
Bradley M. Jones ◽  
Donald P. Moynihan
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Early Life Factors ◽  
Causal Impact ◽  
Higher Educational Attainment ◽  
New Evidence

Although educational attainment is one of the strongest correlates of mass political participation, researchers disagree about whether it has a causal impact on voter turnout. One prominent theory proposes the observed correlation between higher educational attainment and political participation is spurious, largely reflecting early-life factors such as genetics, family resources, and parental values. To test this claim we analyze siblings in a longitudinal survey to control for the pre-adult environmental effects on official measures of turnout among older adults. We find some support for spurious effects of education, particularly in a midterm election where the most politically engaged individuals are mobilized. Because patterns of political engagement are formed in childhood, early-life experiences may be more influential in midterm elections where fewer stimuli and resources are present to mobilize voters.

American and German Trends in Sex Differences in Political Participation

1985 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
CAROL A. CHRISTY
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Trend Data ◽  
Farming Families ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of economic development and generational turnover on trends in sex differences in political participation. Election studies of the United States and West Germany are the sources of the trend data, which cover the period between 1952-1953 and 1980. Controls are imposed for increased education levels, the decreased preponderance of rural residents and farming families, and the replacement of older generations by younger ones. The results show that these socioeconomic processes have had a negligible impact on the sex difference trends. Furthermore, these socioeconomic processes cannot explain the variations in the rate of change by nation and by indicator of political participation. The article identifies different configurations of factors affecting the trends in voter turnout, in media attention and discussion, and in organizationally related types of campaign activity.

Gender and Local Political Interest: Some International Comparisons

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 672-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette C. Hayes ◽  
Clive S. Bean
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
International Comparisons ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Political Interest

Since the 1970s, political science research suggests no significant gender differences in overall levels of participation. For example, an examination of current rates of conventional political participation and voter turnout indicates little difference between men and women in either the United States, Great Britain, West Germany, Italy or other western industrial nations.1 Despite this disappearance of gender differences in political participation, however, both national and international research suggests an enduring gender gap in political interest. Regardless of country of origin, women remain less politically interested than men.2

Genetic Variation in Political Participation

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES H. FOWLER ◽  
LAURA A. BAKER ◽  
CHRISTOPHER T. DAWES
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Broad Class ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Individual Level

The decision to vote has puzzled scholars for decades. Theoretical models predict little or no variation in participation in large population elections and empirical models have typically accounted for only a relatively small portion of individual-level variance in turnout behavior. However, these models have not considered the hypothesis that part of the variation in voting behavior can be attributed to genetic effects. Matching public voter turnout records in Los Angeles to a twin registry, we study the heritability of political behavior in monozygotic and dizygotic twins. The results show that a significant proportion of the variation in voting turnout can be accounted for by genes. We also replicate these results with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and show that they extend to a broad class of acts of political participation. These are the first findings to suggest that humans exhibit genetic variation in their tendency to participate in political activities.

scholarly journals Gender differences in civic and political engagement and participation among Italian young people

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Stefani ◽  
Gabriele Prati ◽  
Iana Tzankova ◽  
Elena Ricci ◽  
Cinzia Albanesi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Gender Gaps ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Detailed Picture

A substantial amount of literature has revealed gender gaps in political participation. However, little is known about such gaps when using more comprehensive measures of civic and political participation including online participation. In the present study, we recruited a sample (n = 1792) of young people living in Italy. Controlling for age, majority/minority status, socioeconomic status, respondents’ educational attainment, and parents’ educational attainment, we found that female participants reported higher scores on online and civic participation, while male participants were more likely to report political and activist participation. The effect size for these gender differences was small. In addition, we did not find any gender differences in voting behavior in the last European parliamentary elections, national parliamentary elections, and local elections. These findings highlight the need to move toward a more comprehensive and detailed picture of gender gaps in political engagement and participation including different types of participation.

Structure, Behavior, and Voter Turnout in the United States

1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Timpone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Selection Bias ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gender Attitudes ◽  
Electoral Participation ◽  
Actual Decision

Electoral participation in the United States is examined to provide a clearer account of the effect of the registration requirement on individual voting behavior. Pooling NES data from 1980, 1984, and 1988, I first model, with traditional and selection bias techniques, the full electorate to distinguish among three groups: nonregistrants, registered nonvoters, and voters. Analyses limited to recent movers then reported to understand more fully the forces associated with the actual decision calculi of registering and voting. The influences of many factors commonly accepted as important determinants of voting are disentangled, and their effect at each stage is ascertained. Factors yielding inconsistent effects in previ research or believed to be unimportant—such as race, gender, attitudes toward the candidates, and trust government—are shown to deserve closer scrutiny by electoral scholars.

scholarly journals Silencing the seventh trumpet: Analyzing the effect of private schooling on voting behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-210
Author(s):  
Ian Kingsbury
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Private School ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
The United States ◽  
University Of Southern California ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Private Schooling ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The University ◽  
Quantity Of Education

The United States has one of the lowest election turnout rates in the developed world. Consequently, social scientists are perpetually seeking to expand upon their knowledge of what factors are associated with voting, or the lack thereof. Commonly identified factors including age, income, race, and educational attainment have been studied extensively. However, while the quantity of education is deemed important, the type of education is overlooked. The limited literature that exists on the topic suggests that private schools have a positive effect on civic outcomes, including voter participation. In using a rich, nationally representative dataset—the Understanding America Study based out of the University of Southern California—this study reexamines whether attending a private school has an effect on whether Americans vote. It also sheds light on a heretofore-unanswered question: How does private schooling affect which candidate an individual supports? Overall, the data indicate that private schooling appears to have no impact on voter turnout, but that attending some private school appears to have a liberalizing effect.

scholarly journals The Spatial Diffusion of Social Conformity and its Effect on Voter Turnout

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
Spatial Analyses ◽  
Social Conformity ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Local Degree

Social conformity can spread social norms and behaviors through a society. This research examines such a process geographically for conformity with the norm that citizens should vote and consequent voter turnout. A mathematical model for this process is developed based on the Laplace equation, and predictions are tested with qualitative and quantitative spatial analyses of state-level voter turnout in American presidential elections. Results show that the diffusion of conformist behavior affects the local degree of turnout and produces highly specific and predictable voting behavior patterns across the United States, confirming the model.

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