Electoral Participation

• Author: Richard M. Scammon
• Published date: 01 May 1967
• Date: 01 May 1967
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/000271626737100104
• Subject Matter: Articles

59

Electoral

Participation

By

RICHARD

M.

SCAMMON

Richard

M.

Scammon,

Chevy

Chase,

Maryland,

has

been

Director,

Elections

Re-

search

Center,

Governmental

Affairs

Institute,

Washington,

D.C.,

,

since

1955.

From

1961

to

1965,

he

was

on

leave

as

Director

of

the

United

States

Bureau

of

the

Census.

From

1948

to

1955,

he

was

Chief,

Division

of

Research

for

Western

Europe,

United

States

Department

of

State.

He

served

as

Chairman

of

f the

United

States

Delegation

to

Observe

Elections

in

the

U.S.S.R.,

1958;

as

Chairman

of

the

President’s

Commission

on

Registration

and

Voting

Participation,

1963;

and

as

a

member

of

the

OAS

Electoral

ilfission

to

the

Dominican

Republic,

1966.

He

is

the

editor

of

America

Votes,

Volumes

1

through

6

(1956-1964)

ayad

of

America

at

the

Polls

(1965).

ABSTRACT:

The

report

of

the

Kennedy

Commission

on

Registration

and

Voter

Participation,

the

1964

Current

Population

Survey

of

the

Census

Bureau,

and

other

data

indicate

a

number

of

facts

about

United

States

voter

par-

ticipation.

People

tend

to

"overstate"

their

participation

in

elections.

Men

vote

more

than

women,

the

middle-aged

more

than

the

young

and

the

elderly,

whites

more

than

Negroes.

The

curve

of

voter

turnout

parallels

those

of

education

and

income.

Turnout

is

lower

in

the

South

than

in

other

areas

and

also

varies

by

urban,

suburban,

and

rural

areas.

Turn-

out

is

generally

greater

in

elections

for

higher

government

levels

and

greater

in

general

than

in

primary

elections.

One

group

of

nonvoters

is

deterred

by

such

major

legal-administra-

tive

obstacles

as

citizenship,

registration,

and

absentee

voting

requirements,

racial

and

religious

disabilities,

and

administra-

tive

regulations

for

voting

times

and

locations.

A

second

group

of

nonvoters

are

those

who

meet

legal-administrative

requirements

but

exhibit

"lack

of

involvement."

Age,

sex,

and

social-economic

status

affect

lack

of

involvement.

So

do

importance

and

closeness

of

elections

and

competitiveness

of

the

political

atmosphere.

Total

voter

participation

in

elec-

tions

is

a

dubious

goal.

Perhaps

the

goal

should

rather

be

to

increase

access

to

the

polls

by

eliminating

or

altering

legal

and

administrative

barriers

to

voluntary

voting.—Ed.