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The Geography of Support for Open‐Space Initiatives: A Case Study of New Jersey's 1998 Ballot Measure *
Author(s) -
Solecki William D.,
Mason Robert J.,
Martin Shan
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.00236.x
Subject(s) - ballot , socioeconomic status , voting , residence , space (punctuation) , per capita , measure (data warehouse) , politics , margin (machine learning) , geography , liberian dollar , principal (computer security) , political science , economic growth , public economics , public administration , demographic economics , economics , sociology , demography , law , computer security , population , computer science , finance , database , machine learning , operating system
Objectives. By a two to one margin, New Jersey voters in 1998 approved a ballot measure authorizing a 10‐year, 1‐billion dollar open‐space acquisition program. This article's principal objectives are to investigate and explain the spatial character of that vote. Methods. Our methods consists of regression and principal components analyses; we use municipal‐level data to define statewide patterns of voter support and participation in relation to a series of socioeconomic, political, and environmental variables. Results. The analyses yielded two major findings: (1) support for the ballot measure was widespread, but exceptionally strong in the “wealth belt” area of north‐central New Jersey, and (2) voter participation, defined as those voting on the measure as a proportion of all who voted, lagged in the core urban areas. Conclusions. Our conclusions point critically to the importance of socioeconomic status, urban residence, and presence of existing open‐space regulations—as well as rapid changes in the overall sociopolitical landscape—in explaining voter behavior.