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THE EFFECTS OF THE ABOLITION OF THE GEORGIA COUNTY‐UNIT SYSTEM ON THE 1962 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION
Author(s) -
Buchanan Scott E.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
southeastern political review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 0730-2177
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.1997.tb00462.x
Subject(s) - turnout , unit (ring theory) , voting , political science , voter turnout , politics , public administration , test (biology) , demographic economics , political economy , economics , law , psychology , paleontology , mathematics education , biology
This study examines the impact of the abolition of the county‐unit system on the 1962 Georgia gubernatorial election, which provides the opportunity to analyze what occurs when a major upheaval takes place in an electoral system. Methods : Hypotheses concerning this election are proposed. Path models are used to demonstrate causal relationships, while multiple regression is used to empirically test the hypotheses. Results : The findings show that the abolition of the county‐unit system did have a significant impact upon this election. This ranged from what motivated voter turnout, to visits by the candidates, to what influenced vote choice. Conclusions : The abolition of the county‐unit system provided for a massive shift away from rural domination of statewide politics. Beyond simply influencing voting behavior, the urban counties also had a decisive impact on candidate campaigning and voter turnout.