Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-r5d9c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-02T19:18:07.917Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Getting Registered and Getting to the Polls: The Impactof Voter Registration Strategy and Information Provision on Turnoutof College Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2011

Stacy G. Ulbig  and
Tamara Waggener
Stacy G. Ulbig
Affiliation:
Sam Houston State University
Tamara Waggener
Affiliation:
Sam Houston State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Each election year, colleges and universities across the nationwitness a plethora of on-campus voter registration activities. Theresults of these drives are most often assessed by tallying thenumber of voter registration cards collected. Little has been done,however, to more carefully investigate these results. As a firstattempt to examine postdrive results more thoroughly, we ask twoquestions. First, do students who register through an on-campusvoter registration drive actually make it to the voting booth?Second, does providing basic information about the voting processincrease turnout among students who register through an on-campusvoter registration drive? In this study, we investigate the overallturnout rate of students registering to vote in the 2008presidential election through on-campus registration drives byvalidating votes through the office of the county voting registrar.We then compare the turnout rate of students who registered throughthe on-campus drives with the turnout rate of similar young peoplenationwide. Finally, we investigate whether the provision ofinformation through certain avenues boosts turnout. Our findingsshow that students who registered through an on-campus voterregistration drive turned out to vote at a higher rate than similaryoung people nationwide. Additionally, we found small but importanteffects of information provision through different formats.

Information

Type
Features
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , July 2011 , pp. 544 - 551
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2011

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

American Association of State Colleges, and Universities. 2009. “Electoral Voices: Engaging College Students in Elections.” American Democracy Project Best Practices Guide. http://www.montclair.edu/americandemocracyproject/electoral%20voices.pdf.Google Scholar
Arendt, Hannah. 1958. The Human Condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Barber, Benjamin R. 1984. Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Bennion, Elizabeth A. 2005. “Caught in the Ground Wars: Mobilizing Voters during a Competitive Congressional Campaign.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 601: 123–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennion, Elizabeth A. 2006. “Civic Education and Citizen Engagement: Mobilizing Voters as a Required Field Experiment.” Journal of Political Science Education 2 (2): 205–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brians, Craig Leonard. 1997. “Residential Mobility, Voter Registration, and Electoral Participation in Canada.” Political Research Quarterly 50 (1): 215–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, Diana, Haney, Beth, Snyder, Mark, Sullivan, John L., and Transue, John E.. 2000. “Rocking the Vote: Using Personalized Messages to Motivate Voting among Young Adults.” Public Opinion Quarterly 64: 29–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cain, Bruce E., and McCue, Ken. 1985. “The Efficacy of Registration Drives.” Journal of Politics 47: 1,221–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E.. 1960. The American Voter. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Castle, K., Levy, J., and Peshkin, M.. 2009. Local and Absentee Voter Registration Drives on a College Campus. CIRCLE Working Paper No. 66.Google Scholar
Center for Information, and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). 2006. “Young Voter Mobilization Tactics.” George Washington University Graduate School of Public Administration. http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/Young_Voters_Guide.pdf.Google Scholar
Center for Information, and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). 2009. “New Census Data Confirm Increase in Youth Voter Turnout in 2008 Election” [press release]. CIRCLE, April 28. http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/Census_Youth_Voter_2008.pdf.Google Scholar
Cook, Gale. 1991. “Mail-Order Voters Tip the Balance in Close Elections.” California Journal 22: 101–03.Google Scholar
Darrow, Carolyn. 2003. “Youth Vote Best Practices Handbook: Nonpartisan Guide to Voter Mobilization.” Youth Vote Coalition Handbook. http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/Youth%20Vote%20Handbook_update%202006.pdf.Google Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott. 1996. What Americans Know about Politics and Why it Matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen A., and Holbrook, Thomas M.. 2001. “Knowing versus Caring: The Role of Affect and Cognition in Political Perceptions.” Political Psychology 22 (1): 27–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Ebenger, Tina, and Henderson, Darren. 2007. “Do Voter Registration Drives Increase Voter Turnout?” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 12–15.Google Scholar
Eshleman, Kenneth L. 1989. Where Should Students Vote? The Courts, the States and Local Officials. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.Google Scholar
Frisco, Michelle L., Muller, Chandra, and Dodson, Kyle. 2004. “Participation in Voluntary Youth-Serving Associations and Early Adult Behavior.” Social Science Quarterly 85 (3): 660–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gentzkow, Matthew. 2006. “Television and Voter Turnout.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 121 (3): 931–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, Lisa, and Waldfogel, Joel. 2006. “The New York Times and the Market for Local Newspapers.” American Economic Review 1: 435–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gosday, Surbhi. 2010. “Youth Voter Turnout in the 2008 and 2006 Elections: A State by State Comparison.” CIRCLE Fact Sheet. http://www.civicyouth.org/.Google Scholar
Graber, Doris A. 2000. Media Power in Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Green, Donald, and Gerber, Alan S.. 2004. Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
Haslup, Michael, and O'Loughlin, Michel. 2004. “Democracy and College Student Voting.” Rev. ed. Salisbury University, Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement Community Outreach Center Project Report.Google Scholar
Highton, Benjamin. 2000. “Residential Mobility, Community Mobility, and Electoral Participation.” Political Behavior 22 (2): 109–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodge, Gary, Lewis, Ted, Kramer, Kim, and Hughes, Regina. 2001. “Collaboration for Excellence: Engaged Scholarship at Collin County Community College.” Community College Journal of Research and Practice 25 (1): 675–90.Google Scholar
Karp, Jeffrey A., and Banducci, Susan A.. 2001. “Absentee Voting, Mobilization, and Participation.” American Politics Research 29 (2): 183–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karp, Jeffrey A., and Brockington, David. 2005. “Social Desirability and Response Validity: A Comparative Analysis of Overreporting Voter Turnout in Five Countries.” Journal of Politics 67 (3): 825–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirby, Emily Hoban, and Kawashima-Ginsberg, Kei. 2009. “The Youth Vote in 2008.” CIRCLE Fact Sheet. http://www.civicyouth.org/.Google Scholar
Kirby, Emily Hoban, Linkins, Samantha, and Glennon, Conner. 2008. “State Voter Registration and Election Day Laws.” CIRCLE Fact Sheet. http://www.civicyouth.org/.Google Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1997. “Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma.” American Political Science Review 91 (1): 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipka, Sara. 2008. “For Many Students, Electoral Enthusiasm Runs up against Barriers to Voting.” Chronicle of Higher Education 54 (21): A21–A22.Google Scholar
Mindich, David T. Z. 2005. Tuned Out: Why Americans under 40 Don't Follow the News. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Morgan, Michael, and Shanahan, James. 1992. “Television Viewing and Voting 1972–1979.” Electoral Studies 11 (1): 3–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niemi, Richard G., and Hanmer, Michael J.. 2010. “Voter Turnout Among College Students: New Data and a Rethinking of Traditional Theories.” Social Science Quarterly 91 (2): 301–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Office of Institutional Research, and Assessment. 2003. “Sam Houston State University 2003 Factbook.” Sam Houston State University. http://www.shsu.edu/~ird_www/factbooks/2003/index.html.Google Scholar
Office of Institutional Research, and Assessment. 2008. “Sam Houston State University Mini Profile, Fall 2008.” Sam Houston State University. http://www.shsu.edu/~ird_www/miniprofiles/documents/FinalMiniProfile-Fall2008.pdf.Google Scholar
Oliver, J. Eric. 1996. “The Effects of Eligibility Restrictions and Party Activity on Absentee Voting and Overall Turnout.” American Journal of Political Science 40: 498–513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parry, Janine A., and Shields, Todd G.. 2001. “Sex, Age, and the Implementation of the Motor Voter Act: The 1996 Presidential Election.” Social Science Quarterly 82 (3): 506–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 1970. Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 1995. “Tuning In, Turning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America.” PS: Political Science and Politics 28 (4): 664–83.Google Scholar
Rosenstone, Steven J., and Hansen, John Mark. 1993. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Shea, Daniel M., and Green, John C., eds. 2007. Fountain of Youth: Strategies and Tactics for Mobilizing America's Young Voters. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Strama, Mark. 1998. “Overcoming Cynicism: Youth Participation and Electoral Politics.” National Civic Review 87 (1): 71–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vedlitz, Arnold. 1985. “Voter Registration Drives and Black Voting in the South.” Journal of Politics 47: 643–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney. 1996. “The Citizen as Respondent: Sample Surveys and American Democracy.” American Political Science Review 90: 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, Tobi. 2000. “The Service/Politics Split: Rethinking Service to Teach Political Engagement.” PS: Political Science and Politics 33 (3): 647–49.Google Scholar
Walker, Tobi. 2002. “Service as a Pathway to Political Participation: What Research Tells Us.” Applied Developmental Science 6 (4): 183–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wattenberg, Martin P. 2007. Is Voting for Young People? New York: Pearson Longman.Google Scholar
Wolfinger, Raymond E., Highton, Benjamin, and Mullen, Meagan. 2004. “How Postregistration Laws Affect the Turnout of Citizens Registered to Vote.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 5 (1): 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zukin, Cliff, Keeter, Scott, Andolina, Molly, Jenkins, Krista, and Carpini, Michael X. Delli. 2006. A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar