Replication data for: Five Studies on the Causes and Consequences of Voter Turnout

In advanced democracies, many citizens abstain from participating in the political process. Does low and unequal voter turnout influence partisan election results or public policies? If so, how can participation be increased and how can the electorate become more representative of the greater population? Study 1 examines the adoption of compulsory voting laws in Australia in order to assess the effects of near-universal turnout. When new, working class voters were brought the polls Aus tralia saw significant changes in election results and public policy. Study 2 explores the partisan consequences of marginal changes in voter turnout in the United States by comparing the partisan preferences of regular and marginal voters. Across three independent tests and settings, marginal voters are significantly more supportive of the Democratic Party compared to regular voters. Studies 3 and 4 examine several potential cures for low turnout. Study 3 examines the common view that social capital and community participation will increase political participation, a claim that has not been rigorously tested. Exploiting the timing of saint’s day fiestas in Mexico and a change in the Mexican electoral calendar, this study finds that social capital and community engagement appear to be substitutes rather than complements for political participation. Study 4 tests another widely held view that increased electoral competition will boost electoral participation, but a range of tests finds little support for this hypothesis. Finally, Study 5 demonstrates that marginal increases in voter turnout will not necessarily make the electorate more representative of the greater population. Get-out-the-vote interventions have been shown to increase turnout si gnificantly and they are widely touted as beneficial for democracy, but surprisingly, these interventions actually increase inequalities in turnout by primarily mobilizing more of the types of citizens who were already voting. In short, low voter turnout and inequalities in voter turnout have significant political and policy consequences, but the problem is hard to fix. Even seemingly benign cures like social capital, electoral competition, and voter mobilization have little benefit or may even be detrimental. Complete date fields below for: time period covered; and date of collection