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The Partisan Battle Over College Student Voting: An Analysis of Student Voting Behavior in Federal, State, and Local Elections *
Author(s) -
Ardoin Phillip J.,
Bell C. Scott,
Ragozzino Michael M.
Publication year - 2015
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/ssqu.12167
Subject(s) - ballot , democracy , electoral college , voting , political science , presidential system , state (computer science) , public administration , battle , voting behavior , local election , distribution (mathematics) , demographic economics , economics , law , geography , politics , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , algorithm , computer science
Objective We aim to test the hypothesis that college students provide Democratic candidates with greater electoral support and whether this varies among federal, state, and local elections. We also test whether college students mobilized by presidential campaigns are more likely to abstain from voting for state and local elections. Methods To examine these questions, we employed OLS and difference‐of‐means tests to analyze the distribution of votes cast in competitive elections for the November 2008 elections in 86 precincts located on 42 college campuses across five states as compared to the distribution of votes cast in noncollege precincts. College precincts were identified by representatives from each community's local Board of Elections. Results In line with conventional wisdom, the results of the analyses indicate Democratic candidates for federal offices do consistently receive greater electoral support from precincts located on college campuses as compared to noncollege precincts. However, the analyses of state and local elections highlight substantial variation in the level of support that Democratic candidates receive from precincts located on college campuses. Moreover, we found many college students in 2008 cast their ballots for Obama, but chose not to participate in lower‐level elections. Conclusion Republican fears regarding college students turning small towns on their heads via the ballot box are not supported by our analyses. On average, students vote more democratically than nonstudents but they are also more likely to simply choose not to vote for local candidates. By and large, they come to the polls to vote for national offices, not local ones.