Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T04:33:13.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Class Bias in Voter Turnout, Representation, and Income Inequality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2016

William W. Franko ,
Nathan J. Kelly  and
Christopher Witko
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The mass franchise led to more responsive government and a more equitable distribution of resources in the United States and other democracies. Recently in America, however, voter participation has been low and increasingly biased toward the wealthy. We investigate whether this electoral “class bias” shapes government ideology, the substance of economic policy, and distributional outcomes, thereby shedding light on both the old question of whether who votes matters and the newer question of how politics has contributed to growing income inequality. Because both lower and upper income groups try to use their resources to mobilize their supporters and demobilize their opponents, we argue that variation in class bias in turnout is a good indicator of the balance of power between upper and lower income groups. And because lower income voters favor more liberal governments and economic policies we expect that less class bias will be associated with these outcomes and a more equal income distribution. Our analysis of data from the U.S. states confirms that class bias matters for these outcomes.

Type
Articles
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 351 - 368
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2016 

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

Aldrich, John H. 1995. Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John H. 2015. “Did Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson ‘Cause’ the U.S. Government Shutdown? The Institutional Path from an Eighteenth Century Republic to a Twenty-first Century Democracy.” Perspectives on Politics 13(1): 7–23.Google Scholar
Alesina, Alberto and Giuliano, Paola. 2011. “Preferences for Redistribution.” In Handbook of Social Economics, edited by Benhabib, Jess, Bisin, Alberto, and Jackson, Matthew O.. San Diego, CA: North-Holland.Google Scholar
Ansell, Ben W. and Samuels, David J.. 2014. Inequality and Democratization. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Brandon. 2008. “Beyond ‘Fixed Versus Random Effects’: A Framework for Improving Substantive and Statistical Analysis of Panel, TSCS, and Multilevel Data.” The Society for Political Methodology, September 30. http://polmeth.wustl.edu/node/329.Google Scholar
Bartels, Larry M. 2008. Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Bentele, Keith G. and O’Brien, Erin E.. 2013. “Jim Crow 2.0? Why States Consider and Adopt Restrictive Voter Access Policies.” Perspectives on Politics 11(4): 1088–116.Google Scholar
Berry, William D., Fording, Richard C., Ringquist, Evan J., Hanson, Russell L., and Klarner, Carl. 2013. “A New Measure of State Government Ideology, and Evidence That Both the New Measure and an Old Measure Are Valid.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 13(2): 164–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, William D., Ringquist, Evan J., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L.. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960–93.” American Journal of Political Science 12(1): 327–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blakely, Tony A., Kennedy, Bruce P., and Kawachi, Ichiro. 2001. “Socioeconomic Inequality in Voting Participation and Self-Rated Health.” American Journal of Public Health 91(1): 99–104.Google Scholar
Boix, Carles. 2003. Democracy and Redistribution. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bradley, David, Huber, Evelyne, Moller, Stephanie, Nielsen, François, and Stephens, John D.. 2003. “Distribution and Redistribution in Postindustrial Democracies.” World Politics 55(2): 193–228.Google Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E.. 1960. The American Voter. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Cernetich, Kelly. 2012. “Turzai: Voter ID Law Means Romney Can Win PA.” Politics PA, June 25. http://www.politicspa.com/turzai-voter-id-law-means-romney-can-win-pa/37153/.Google Scholar
Citrin, Jack, Schickler, Eric, and Sides, John. 2003. “What If Everyone Voted? Simulating the Impact of Increased Turnout in Senate Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 47(1): 75–90.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Druckman, James N. and Jacobs, Lawrence R.. 2015. Who Governs? Presidents, Public Opinion, and Manipulation. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Dunn, John. 2005. Democracy: A History. New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press.Google Scholar
Enns, Peter K., Kelly, Nathan J., Morgan, Jana, Volscho, Thomas, and Witko, Christopher. 2014. “Conditional Status Quo Bias and Top Income Shares: How U.S. Political Institutions Have Benefited the Rich.” Journal of Politics 76(2): 289–303.Google Scholar
Enns, Peter K. and Koch, Julianna. 2013. “Public Opinion in the U.S. States 1956 to 2010.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 13(3): 349–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, Robert S., MacKuen, Michael B., and Stimson, James A.. 2002. The Macro Polity. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Faricy, Christopher G. 2015. Welfare for the Wealthy: Parties, Social Spending, and Inequality in the United States. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 2012. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin and Page, Benjamin I.. 2014. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.” Perspectives on Politics 12(3): 564–81.Google Scholar
Gray, Virginia, Lowery, David, Fellowes, Matthew, and Mcatee, Andrea. 2004. “Public Opinion, Public Policy, and Organized Interests in the American States.” Political Research Quarterly 5(3): 411–20.Google Scholar
Greenstone, J. David. 1969. Labor in American Politics. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Griffin, John D. and Newman, Brian. 2005. “Are Voters Better Represented?” Journal of Politics 67(4): 1206–27.Google Scholar
Griffin, John D. and Newman, Brian. 2007. “The Unequal Representation of Latinos and Whites.” Journal of Politics 69(4): 1032–46.Google Scholar
Griffin, John D. and Newman, Brian. 2008. Minority Report: Evaluating Political Equality in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hacker, Jacob S. and Pierson, Paul. 2010. Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer—and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Hacker, Jacob S. and Pierson, Paul. 2014. “After the ‘Master Theory’: Downs, Schattschneider, and the Rebirth of Policy-Focused Analysis.” Perspectives on Politics 12(3): 643–62.Google Scholar
Hanmer, Michael J. 2009. Discount Voting: Voter Registration Reforms and Their Effects. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Highton, Benjamin and Wolfinger, Raymond E. 2001. “The Political Implications of Higher Turnout.” British Journal of Political Science 31(1): 179–223.Google Scholar
Huber, Evelyne and Stephens, John D.. 2001. Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and Policies in Global Markets. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jackman, Mary R. and Jackman, Robert W.. 1983. Class Awareness in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Kazin, Michael. 2006. A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Keller, Eric and Kelly, Nathan J.. 2015. “Partisan Politics, Financial Deregulation, and the New Gilded Age.” Political Research Quarterly 68(3): 428–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Nathan J. 2005. “Political Choice, Public Policy, and Distributional Outcomes.” American Journal of Political Science 49(4): 865–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Nathan J. 2009. The Politics of Income Inequality in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, Nathan J. and Enns, Peter K.. 2010. “Inequality and the Dynamics of Public Opinion: The Self-Reinforcing Link Between Economic Inequality and Mass Preferences.” American Journal of Political Science 54(4): 855–70.Google Scholar
Kelly, Nathan J. and Witko, Christopher. 2012. “Federalism and American Inequality.” Journal of Politics 74(02): 414–26.Google Scholar
Kumar, Sheila V. 2015. “Oregon Is First State to Adopt Automatic Voter Registration.” Statesman Journal, March. http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/24/california-wants-adopt-oregons-motor-voter-law/70412228/.Google Scholar
Kurland, Philip B. and Lerner, Ralph, eds. 1987. The Founders’ Constitution. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lasswell, Harold Dwight. 1950. Politics: Who Gets What, When, How. New York: P. Smith.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan E and Nagler, Jonathan. 2007. “Unions, Voter Turnout, and Class Bias in the U.S. Electorate, 1964–2004.” Journal of Politics 69(2): 430–41.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan E and Nagler, Jonathan. 2013. Who Votes Now? Demographics, Issues, Inequality, and Turnout in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Lewis-Beck, Michael S, Jacoby, William G, Norpoth, Helmut, and Weisberg, Herbert F. 2008. The American Voter Revisited. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Mackenbach, Johan P. and Kunst, Anton E.. 1997. “Measuring the Magnitude of Socio-Economic Inequalities in Health: An Overview of Available Measures Illustrated with Two Examples from Europe.” Social Science & Medicine 44(6): 757–71.Google Scholar
Madison, James. 1961. “No. 10: The Same Subject Continued.” In The Federalist Papers, edited by Rossiter, Clinton. New York, NY: Penguin Group.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 2003. “Rethinking Representation.” American Political Science Review 97(4): 515–28.Google Scholar
McGreevy, Patrick. 2015. “Gov. Brown Approves Automatic Voter Registration for Californians.” Los Angeles Times, October 10. http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-gov-brown-on-motor-voter-bill-20150917-story.html.Google Scholar
Meltzer, Allan H. and Richard, Scott F.. 1981. “A Rational Theory of the Size of Government.” Journal of Political Economy 89(5): 914–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, Jana and Kelly, Nathan J.. 2013. “Market Inequality and Redistribution in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Journal of Politics 75(3): 672–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, Benjamin I., Bartels, Larry M., and Seawright, Jason. 2013. “Democracy and the Policy Preferences of Wealthy Americans.” Perspectives on Politics 11(1): 51–73.Google Scholar
Page, Benjamin I. and Shapiro, Robert Y.. 1992. The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americans’ Policy Preferences. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piketty, Thomas. 2014. Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pitkin, Hanna Fenichel. 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plato. 2000. The Republic. Edited by Ferrari, G. R. F.. Translated by Tom Griffith. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Przeworski, Adam. 1985. Capitalism and Social Democracy. Cambridge, UK.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, Adam. 2009. “Conquered or Granted? A History of Suffrage Extensions.” British Journal of Political Science 39(2): 291–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Przeworski, Adam and Sprague, John. 1986. Paper Stones: A History of Electoral Socialism. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Ragsdale, Lyn. 2014. Vital Statistics on the Presidency: The Definitive Source for Data and Analysis on the American Presidency. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Rehfield, Andrew. 2005. The Concept of Constituency: Political Representation, Democratic Legitimacy and Institutional Design. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rigby, Elizabeth and Springer, Melanie J. 2011. “Does Electoral Reform Increase (or Decrease) Political Equality?” Political Research Quarterly 64(2): 420–34.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven J. and Hansen, John Mark. 1993. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. 1960. The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Sides, John, Schickler, Eric, and Citrin, Jack. 2008. “If Everyone Had Voted, Would Bubba and Dubya Have Won?” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38(3): 521–39.Google Scholar
Smeeding, Timothy M. 2005. “Public Policy, Economic Inequality, and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective.” Social Science Quarterly 86(s1): 955–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stepan, Alfred and Linz, Juan J.. 2011. “Comparative Perspectives on Inequality and the Quality of Democracy in the United States.” Perspectives on Politics 9(4): 841–56.Google Scholar
Stimson, James A. 1999. Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Stimson, James A., MacKuen, Michael B., and Erikson, Robert S.. 1995. “Dynamic Representation.” American Political Science Review 89(3): 543–65.Google Scholar
Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1945. Democracy in America. New York: Vintage.Google Scholar
Tope, Daniel and Jacobs, David. 2009. “The Politics of Union Decline: The Contingent Determinants of Union Recognition Elections and Victories.” American Sociological Review 74(5): 842–64.Google Scholar
Uggen, Christopher and Manza, Jeff. 2002. “Democratic Contraction? Political Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States.” American Sociological Review 67(6): 777–803.Google Scholar
Urbinati, Nadia and Warren, Mark E.. 2008. “The Concept of Representation in Contemporary Democratic Theory.” Annual Review of Political Science 11: 387–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valletta, Robert G. and Freeman, Richard B.. 1988. “Appendix B: The NBER Public Sector Collective Bargaining Law Data Set.” In When Public Sector Workers Unionize, ed. Freeman, Richard B. and Ichniowski, Casey. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. http://www.nber.org/publaw/.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Lehman Schlozman, Kay, and Brady, Henry E.. 1995. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Vogel, David. 1989. Fluctuating Fortunes: The Political Power of Business in America. New York: Beard Books.Google Scholar
Volscho, Thomas W. and Kelly, Nathan J.. 2012. “The Rise of the Super-Rich: Power Resources, Taxes, Financial Markets, and the Dynamics of the Top 1 Percent, 1949 to 2008.” American Sociological Review 77(5): 679–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wichowsky, Amber. 2012. “Competition, Party Dollars, and Income Bias in Voter Turnout, 1980–2008.” Journal of Politics 74(2): 446–59.Google Scholar
Winters, Jeffrey A. and Page, Benjamin I.. 2009. “Oligarchy in the United States?” Perspectives on Politics 7(4): 731–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witko, Christopher. 2016. “The Politics of Financialization in the United States, 1949–2005.” British Journal of Political Science 46(2): 349–70.Google Scholar
Witko, Christopher and Newmark, Adam J.. 2005. “Business Mobilization and Public Policy in the U.S. States.” Social Science Quarterly 86(2): 356–67.Google Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond E. and Rosenstone, Steven J.. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Franko supplementary material

Appendices

Download Franko supplementary material(File)
File 153.7 KB