This paper presents evidence that voter participation does not depend on the probability that one vote is decisive. An extensive summary of the empirical participation literature is provided which shows that most but not all studies have found that turnout in an electoral district is higher when the race is closer. Individual-level vote regressions for the 1979 and 1980 Canadian national elections are estimated using objective measures of closeness (as opposed to self-reported measures). The main finding is that a citizen is no more likely to vote in a close election than in a lands-lide election. District-level turnout regressions for the same elections are also estimated, and a significant relation between closeness and turnout is observed. This suggests that aggregation bias may generate a spurious closeness-turnout relation in district-level regressions.

The Downsian voter meets the ecological fallacy

Legislators possess political assets that economic interest groups may find valuable in pursuing their goals. This paper examines the effect these legislative assets have on the campaign contributions made by two large and easily identifiable interest groups: corporations and labor unions. Committee assignment, voting record, and electoral security are significant predictors of both corporate and union contributions to House incumbents, while party affiliation and years in office also influence the behavior of union political action committees.

The Impact of Legislator Attributes on Interest-Group Campaign Contributions*

When we explicitly lay out all its steps, we find that the Paradox of Not Voting (since the chance of one vote's making a difference is about zero, why trouble to vote?) rests on a false but hitherto unremarked assumption about the institutional context of elections. My solution to the Paradox is more conservative than others that have been proposed, and it yields a rational-choice model of voting whose consequence accord well with empirical findings on turnout.

Your vote counts on account of the way it is counted: An institutional solution to the paradox of not voting

The determinants of voter participation: A more general model

We have constructed two models of how economic interest groups allocate their campaign monies between candidates for the same legislative house. The models make contrasting assumptions regarding an interest group's strategy for affecting policy outcomes. One model assumes contributions are given to affect election probabilities while the other assumes that contributions are exchanged for political favors. The validity of these assumptions can best be examined by testing the predictions of the two models.

The allocation of political monies: Economic interest groups

Information and voting: An empirical note

Legislators as taxicabs: on the value of seats in the u.s. house of representatives

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Information and voting: An empirical note

Legislators as taxicabs: on the value of seats in the u.s. house of representatives