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5 - Turnout and Local Government Spending Priorities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Zoltan L. Hajnal
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Summary

The last two chapters illustrated the dramatic role turnout can play in the local electoral arena. Who wins office seems intricately connected to who votes and perhaps more important to who does not vote. But what happens after the election, once candidates enter office? Winning office is a significant first step that can have real consequences for racial and ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups, but it is only a first step. The ultimate test of turnout is how it affects what a government does once in office.

Thus, in this chapter, I present one last, critical test of turnout effects in the local political arena. Specifically, I look to see how voter turnout affects one of the most important indicators of government priorities – where they spend their money. Governments serve a variety of purposes, but one of their most vital functions is the distribution of resources. Where those resources are distributed and who receives them are among the most fundamental questions facing a democracy. The local political arena is no exception. Nationwide, local governments spend over a trillion dollars annually (U.S. Census Bureau 2003). Local politics, at its core, is often a battle over who is going to get those dollars. If voter turnout can help determine who wins and who loses this battle, then there can be little doubt that turnout matters a great deal in American democracy.

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Chapter
Information
America's Uneven Democracy
Race, Turnout, and Representation in City Politics
, pp. 101 - 139
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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