Labor Unions and Voter Turnout in the American States: Direct Versus Indirect Mobilization

I examine the relationship between labor unions and voter turnout in the American states. Though it is well known that unions increase turnout directly, we know less about their indirect effects. Moreover, the indirect effects may consist of nonmember mobilization and aggregate strength. To examine the direct and indirect mechanisms, I analyze both state-level panel data and individual-level data with a multilevel approach. First, my panel analysis shows that unions are positively associated with turnout as expected. Yet, the association is observed only in midterm elections, but not in presidential elections. Second, more importantly, my individual-level analysis suggests that indirect nonmember mobilization and indirect aggregate strength are positively related to turnout, while direct member mobilization is not. The findings imply that the direct effects are limited and, thus, that decreasing levels of voter turnout due to recently declining union membership come primarily from indirect mobilization rather than direct mobilization.

How Effective Are Monetary Incentives to Vote? Evidence from a Nationwide Policy

We study voters’ response to marginal changes to the fine for electoral abstention in Peru, leveraging variation from a nationwide reform. A smaller fine has a robust, negative effect on voter turnout, partly through irregular changes in voter registration. However, representation is largely unaffected, as most of the lost votes are blank or invalid. We also show that the effect of an exemption from compulsory voting is substantially larger than that of a full fine reduction, suggesting that nonmonetary incentives are the main drivers behind the effectiveness of compulsory voting. (JEL D72, K16, O17)

Public E-participation Services as a Cure for Declining Voter Turnout - Acceptance Model Research Using PLS-SEM

Purpose of this paper is to identify factors influencing the intention to use and develop a model for measuring the intention to use public e-participation services. As a added value, paper is examining the structure of needs for different levels of public e-participation services. As for the methodology, this paper provides an empirical evaluation of Davis's Technology Acceptance Model extended with non-technical constructs of the Planned Behavior Theory and Trust Model. Validity and hypotheses of the newly proposed multidimensional structural model were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. PLS-SEM research results significantly confirmed three out of seven hypotheses. There is a positive and statistically significant correlation between “Expected usefulness”, “Expected behaviour control” and “Trust in the Internet” with the intention to use public e-participation services (p<0.05). Concerning demand-side, research results demonstrate that the majority of the respondents prefers public e-participation services of a higher level of complexity.

Civic Engagement on Voters Turnout in General Election

The concern of voter turnout during general election is a serious problem. As such, the study found that civic engagement influences significantly voter turnout during general election in Tanzania. The findings based on primary data and descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model identified how civic engagement influences maximum voters turnout. These include putting names of voters before election day, authority to enforce law protecting voters, communities to know the importance of voting, Further, logistic regression model also deepens the finding that civic engagement influences voters turnout by establishing gender system on voting and emphasis youth's registration before election and .to encourage voters so that they know importance of voting. Conclusion is that voter turnout requires well organised and arranged packages of civic engagement. Recommendation is to emphasis on civic engagement as it explores voters' interest specifically democratic system and transparency.

Intermedia Agenda-Setting Effect of Latino Television in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global health crisis from a viral disease known as COVID-19 caused by a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. The world population went into a mandatory lockdown and obligatory use of face masks to prevent the virus from spreading. Within this epidemiological context, in late August 2020, on the first day of the general election campaign period, the United States had reached about 6 million cases of COVID-19 and approximately 190K deaths, according to its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Against all expectations, voter turnout to elect the 46th President set a civic participation record that had not been observed in over 100 years. The aim of this study is to examine the journalistic information disseminated by U.S. Spanish-language television media to Latino voters which motivated them to get out to vote. The theoretical foundation is Agenda-Setting theory focusing on the intermedia agenda-setting effect between Telemundo and Univision by measuring the level of salience emerging from their own news agendas.

The Impact of the D21 Method and Its Modification on Citizens’ Participation in Participatory Budgeting. The Case of the Czech Republic

Participatory budgeting (PB) is often discussed as a tool to support active participation of citizens in the decision-making in the matters of the distribution of public resources. However, little was said about the possibility that the choice of a voting method used in the voting phase of the PB process could affect the participation in PB. In the Czech Republic, the Democracy 2.1 (D21) voting method is often used in municipalities implementing PB and additionally, it is promoted as a method to encourage more people to vote. This article aims to determine Czech municipalities with the D21 method and its modification, and to evaluate the impact of choosing these voting methods on participation rate in PB. The study suggests that the choice of a voting method is relevant for citizens´ engagement in voting. Based on the empirical findings, the D21 method and its modification are associated with a higher voter turnout in PB than another voting method. Further, the results underline the influence of external organizations offering online platforms for voting.