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Voting Attitudes and Behaviour Among Aboriginal Peoples: Reports from Anangu Women *
Author(s) -
Hill Lisa,
Alport Kate
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
australian journal of politics and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-8497
pISSN - 0004-9522
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01552.x
Subject(s) - salience (neuroscience) , turnout , voting , politics , political science , state (computer science) , demographic economics , gender studies , sociology , psychology , law , economics , algorithm , computer science , cognitive psychology
At state and particularly in federal (or national) elections, Aboriginal Peoples in remote regions turn out to vote in low numbers. A number of hypotheses have been offered to explain the low voting participation of such constituencies. Some have asserted that Aboriginal Peoples do not wish to vote; others have suggested that “first order” elections have low salience for Aboriginal Peoples, thereby depressing turnout. The low political efficacy thesis has also been proposed, as well as cultural and mechanical factors. We consider whether any of these hypotheses are plausible using data obtained in group interviews with twenty‐nine Anangu Women in remote South Australia. On the basis of this fieldwork we consider means for stimulating turnout within this, and in similar, constituencies.