Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-05T06:08:44.437Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does Compulsory Voting Lead to More Informed and Engaged Citizens? An Experimental Test

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2008

Peter John Loewen ,
Henry Milner  and
Bruce M. Hicks
Peter John Loewen*
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
Henry Milner*
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
Bruce M. Hicks*
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
*
Peter Loewen, Département de science politique, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montreal, Canada, H3C 3J7, [email protected]
Henry Milner, Département de science politique, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montreal, Canada, H3C 3J7, [email protected]
Bruce M. Hicks, Département de science politique, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montreal, Canada, H3C 3J7, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Abstract. Does compulsory voting lead to more knowledgeable and engaged citizens? We report the results from a recent experiment measuring such “second-order effects” in a compulsory voting environment. We conducted the experiment during the 2007 Quebec provincial election among 121 students at a Montreal CEGEP. To receive payment, all the students were required to complete two surveys; half were also required to vote. By comparing knowledge and engagement measures between the two groups, we can measure the second-order effects of compulsory voting. We find little or no such effects.

Résumé. Le vote obligatoire augmente-t-il le niveau d'information et l'engagement politique des citoyens? Nous présentons les résultats d'une expérience mesurant de tels « effets secondaires' » dans un environnement caractérisé par le vote obligatoire. Nous avons mené une expérience auprès de 121 étudiants d'un cégep montréalais lors de l'élection québécoise de 2007. Afin de recevoir une somme d'argent, les étudiants n'avaient qu'à compléter deux questionnaires; une moitié des participants devait en plus voter le jour de l'élection. En comparant le niveau d'information et l'engagement entre les deux groupes, nous pouvons mesurer les effets secondaires du vote obligatoire. Notre expérience révèle que le vote obligatoire a peu ou pas d'effet sur les connaissances et la participation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , September 2008 , pp. 655 - 672
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ballinger, Chris. 2007. “Compulsory Voting: Palliative Care for Democracy in the UK.” Paper presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions workshop, “Compulsory Voting: Principles and Practice,” Helsinki.Google Scholar
Bilodeau, Antoine and Blais, André. 2005. “Le vote obligatoire, a-t-il un effet de socialisation politique?” Paper presented to Colloque int. vote obligatoire, Inst. d'études Polit. Lille.Google Scholar
Blais, André and Carty, R. Kenneth. 1990. “Does Proportional Representation Foster Voter Turnout?” European Journal of Political Research 18(2): 167–81.Google Scholar
Blais, André and Dobrzynska, Agnieszka. 1998. “Turnout in Electoral Democracies.” European Journal of Political Research 33(2): 239–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Jonathan D. and Blum, Kenneth I.. 2002. “Reward and Decision.” Neuron 36: 193–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Czesnik, Mikolaj. 2007. “Is Compulsory Voting a Remedy? Evidence from the 2001 Polish Parliamentary Elections.” Paper presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions workshop, “Compulsory Voting: Principles and Practice,” Helsinki.Google Scholar
Druckman, James N. and Lupia, Arthur. Forthcoming. “Mind, Will, and Choice: Lessons from Experiments in Contextual Variation.” In The Oxford Handbook on Contextual Political Analysis, ed. Tilly, Charles and Goodin, Robert E.. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Druckman, James N., Green, Donald P., Kuklinski, James H. and Lupia, Arthur. 2006. “The Growth and Development of Experimental Research in Political Science.” American Political Science Review 100(4): 627–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelen, Bart and Hooghe, Marc. 2007. “Compulsory Voting and its Effects on Political Participation, Interest and Efficacy.” Paper presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions workshop, “Compulsory Voting: Principles and Practice,” Helsinki.Google Scholar
Fournier, Patrick. 2002. “The Uninformed Canadian Voter.” In Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour, ed. Everitt, Joanna and O'Neill, Brenda. Toronto: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Franklin, Mark N. 1996. “Electoral Participation.” In Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in Global Perspective, ed. LeDuc, Laurence, Niemi, Richard G and Norris, Pippa. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Franklin, Mark N. 2004. Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Alan S., Green, Donald P. and Kaplan, Edward H.. 2004. “The Illusion of Learning from Observational Research.” In Problems and Methods in the Study of Politics, ed. Shapiro, Ian, Smith, Rogers and Massoud, Tarek. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hirczy, Wolfgand. 1994. “The Impact of Mandatory Voting Laws on Turnout: A Quasi-Experimental Approach.” Electoral Studies 13: 64–76.Google Scholar
Jackman, Robert W. 1987. “Political Institutions and Voter Turnout in the Industrial Democracies.” American Political Science Review 81(2): 405–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, Daniel. 2003. “A Psychological Perspective of Economics.” The American Economic Review 93: 162–68.Google Scholar
Kahneman, Daniel and Tversky, Amos. 1979. “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decisions under Risk.” Econometrica 47: 313–27.Google Scholar
King, Gary, Murray, Christopher J.L., Saloman, Joshua A. and Tandon, Ajay. 2004. “Enhancing the Validity and Cross-Cultural Comparability of Measurement in Survey Research.” American Political Science Review 98(1): 191–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1997. “Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma.” American Political Science Review 91(1): 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lupia, Arthur. 2002. “New Ideas in Experimental Political Science.” Political Analysis 10: 319–24.Google Scholar
McDermott, Rose. 2002. “Experimental Methodology in Political Science.” Political Analysis 10(4): 325–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, Ian, Smith, Rogers and Massoud, Tarek, eds. 2004. Problems and Methods in the Study of Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar