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Q: Incentives and barriers to participation in the voting process. ( No Answer,   0 Comments )
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Subject: Incentives and barriers to participation in the voting process.
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: zoon-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 29 Jan 2004 19:10 PST
Expires: 02 Feb 2004 09:01 PST
Question ID: 301664
I am looking for all previously published research that addresses the
following questions:

1. Who are the California nonvoters (i.e. eligible but not 
registered) and low-propensity voters (i.e. registered but not 
participating)looking at all demographic factors, such as age, race
and ethnicity, income, etc.?

2. Both in California and nationally, what is already known or
observed, from surveys/research products/studies,  about
non-participation in the voting process?  Specifically, what are the
barriers and incentives for voter participation, both in California
and nationwide?

The answer is needed by Thursday, Feb 5 and should include the following:

1. A detailed index/inventory of all previously published works
(studies/surveys/polls/articles/papers/books) that address these
questions, including information on where they are available; and

2. Electronic copies of all readily-available works included in the
index/inventory. If they are not readily available, i.e., not
available in electronic format or if they are only available for a
fee, that information should be included in the index/inventory,
again, including where and how they can be obtained.

Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 29 Jan 2004 19:39 PST
Hello, zoon-ga!
 You have asked an extremely interesting question and I will be
starting to research this for you.
 One point....when a customer asks for "all previously published
research" about a particular topic, researchers tend to quake in their
boots a bit. None of us can ever be sure we have found it "all."
However, if you are satisfied that I (or another researcher) have
investigated the available resources until the research seems
exhausted, it will be a pleasure to conduct this research for you.
 Does this seem reasonable?
umiat

Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 30 Jan 2004 05:54 PST
I also need to make the point that most Google researchers do not have
access to the multitude of private, fee-based information databases.
Although some databases do allow a free search for titles or keywords,
I would be unable to get into the actual database and read the
articles to see if they are pertinent to your needs without paying for
each article.
 Are you still wanting a researcher to search the databases that are
publicly available or are you seeking a professional search service?

Clarification of Question by zoon-ga on 30 Jan 2004 08:51 PST
In answer to your first question, yes, it seems reasnonable.  This is
not a topic upon which a great amount of research is likely to have
been done, so I do not think my request for an inventory/index of "all
previously published works" should cause much concern.

As for your second question, I would expect, at the very least, that a
professional researcher answering this request would have access to
basic proprietary databases such as Nexis and whatever its
equivalent(s)are in the academic realm. If that is not the case for
you, please take a pass on this project.  I understand, as I indicated
in my initial question, that researchers may not have access to full
text of all materials. But if indexes or abstracts of those materials
indicate that my questions are addressed, those items should be
included in the index/inventory I've requested.  I've provided detail
on my expectations in my initial question.

Thanks for your interest and for the questions.

Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 31 Jan 2004 10:02 PST
Hello again, zoon-ga,

 I want to further clarify your expectations before I continue as I
know you want an answer by February 5th.

 In your clarification, you said:
 
"This is not a topic upon which a great amount of research is likely
to have been done, so I do not think my request for an inventory/index
of "all previously published works" should cause much concern."

 I have spent well over twelve hours on research already and feel that
I have barely touched the surface in terms of finding "all" published
information on this topic. Many of these references are magazine and
newspaper articles, as per your request for
"studies/surveys/polls/articles/papers/books."

** The search terms necessary to ferret out information on nonvoters
are numerous, and there is no easy way to select pertinent articles
without reading through most of them. I have searched Lexis, Proquest,
WebSPIRS, FirstSearch, SIRS, as well as numerous online search engines
and could spend several more days pouring through each each with
various search strategies.

 Let me give you just one example:

 My searches in Lexis, etc. did not turn up various articles from the
American Prospect, which I found through a traditional online search.
Nor did any of the database searches turn up links to two ABC voter
polls which are mentioned in one of the American Prospect articles.
Consequently, a search on the ABC poll archives only goes back to
1999, so it would take my phone calls to ABC or a suggestion for you
to contact ABC to tell you "where the information can be found."

Here is the American Prospect article and the reference to the ABC polls:

"Finding the Lost Voters," by Micah L. Sifry
http://www.prospect.org/print/V11/6/sifry-m.html
"More answers can be found in two little-noticed surveys, one
conducted in the summer of 1983 by ABC News, and the second done after
the election of 1996 by Republican pollster Kellyanne Fitzpatrick."

Consequently, a search of the ABC News poll vault looks like this:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/PollVault/PollVault.html

* As you can see, just tracking down a copy of the two polls will take
some time since the archives do not go back that far.

==

* Also, there are many articles that touch on reasons people don't
vote even though the article may not be strictly focused on nonvoters.
When you say you want everything published about this issue, the
following article is a good example of what I run into:
 
"Up From Bipartisanship," by Robert B. Reich
http://www.prospect.org/print/V8/32/reich-r.html

"I am not aware of any surveys explaining unambiguously why the
nonvoters of 1996 stayed away from the voting booths, but it seems a
fair guess that they refrained from voting because they assumed it
would make little or no difference to their lives. Lower-wage
Americans, in particular, are voting less because they see less reason
to vote."

==

* Then there are sources like the University of Michigan National
Election Studies which, in and of itself, would take quite a bit of
time to pour through to evaluate which studies touch on nonvoters.
http://www.umich.edu/~nes/overview/overview.htm

==

To give you an idea of my research thus far, here is a sample of
national nonvoter information that I have found:

"Noshows2000 Detailed Findings." Synopsis of Study
http://www.yvoteonline.org/noshows2000_details.shtml  

"NoShows 2000 Report."
http://www.yvoteonline.org/docs/noshows_2000/no_show_2000_report.pdf

"TopLine Results - NonVoters." 
http://www.yvoteonline.org/docs/noshows_2000/no_show_2000_nonvoter_res.pdf

"Methodology."
http://www.yvoteonline.org/docs/noshows_2000/survey_methodology.pdf

"Y VOTE 2000: Politics Meets The Digital Generation."
http://www.yvoteonline.org/yvote2000_jul.shtml
 (Synopsis of this report contains some information on those who have
decided not to vote, so you might want to read the full report
pertaining to those sections)
Full Report: http://www.yvoteonline.org/docs/yvote2000_july/report1.pdf
  
"Putting a Face on Non-Voting Americans," by Leigh Marjamaa. Medill News Service
http://www.yvoteonline.org/noshows2000_mns_news.shtml

"The Myth of the Vanishing Voter," by Michael P. McDonald and Samuel
L. Popkin. American Political Science Review. Vol. 95, No. 4 (December
2001)
http://elections.gmu.edu/APSR%20McDonald%20and_Popkin_2001.pdf

"Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1996," by Lynne
M. Casper and Loretta E. Bass. Current Population Reports. PS20-504.
US Census Bureau. (July 1998)
http://www.census.gov/prod/3/98pubs/p20-504.pdf

"As Turnout Falls, Apathy Emerges As Driving Force," by Richard Morin
and Claudia Deane, Washington Post (Nov. 4, 2000)
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45c/051.html

"ALIENATION NOT A FACTOR IN NONVOTING." League of Women Voters. (from
a 1996 survey)
http://www.lwv.org/elibrary/pub/mellman.htm 

"Why the poll booths of America are empty," by Linda Feldmann.
Christian Science Monitor. (Oct 3, 2000)
http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/10/03/fp1s3-csm.shtml

"A Southern town rebels ... against ballot box," by Ann Scott Tyson.
Christian Science Monitor. (Oct 5, 2000)
http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/10/05/fp8s1-csm.shtml

"Motor Voter: A Dismal Failure," by Randall D. LLoyd PhD. Nevada Journal.
http://nj.npri.org/nj99/02/vote.htm 

"Race, Ethnicity, and Voting." Quick Facts. The Center for Information
and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
http://www.civicyouth.org/quick/trends.htm

"Improving Voter Turnout," by Ingrid Reed. Philadelphia Inquirer. (10/19/2003) 
http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/NJProject/Reedarticle10_03.html


From the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate:

"TURNOUT DIPS TO 56-YEAR LOW." (1998)
http://www.gspm.org/csae/cgans4.html 
 
"REGISTRATION INCREASES BY FOUR MILLION."(11/2/1998)
http://www.gspm.org/csae/cgans3.html
 
"FINAL POST ELECTION REPORT" (2/9/1999)
http://www.gspm.org/csae/cgans5.html


== 


* As far as California information is concerned, the research is
proving to be more elusive. Here are some examples of what I have
found so far:

"Are There Winners and Losers? Race, Ethnicity, and California's
Initiative Process," by Zoltan Hajnal and Hugh Louch. Public Policy
Institute of California (2001)
http://www.iandrinstitute.org/New%20IRI%20Website%20Info/I&R%20Research%20and%20History/I&R%20Studies/Hajnal%20Louch%20-%20Are%20There%20Winners%20and%20Losers%20-%20Race%20in%20CA%20IRI.pdf


"Report Documents Latino Demographics and Voting Behavior in
California," by Kathleen Scalise, Public Affairs (November 4, 1998)
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/1998/1104/latinos.html

"Political Participation and Citizenship." California Latino
Demographic Databook, 3rd Edition. (Dec. 31, 2003)
http://ucdata.berkeley.edu/new_web/latino/chapters/Chapter7.pdf

"Voting in California's 1998 General Election." California's Opinion
Index. (Jan. 1999)
http://field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/COI-98-99-Jan-Election.pdf

"Latino Voting in California Surged in 1996 Election." Los Angeles
Times. (Dec.31,1997)
http://www.azteca.net/aztec/immigrat/politics2.html

"Minorities in California Reach Majority Status." California Immigrant
Welfare Collaborative. Volume 4, Issue 7, (November 29, 2000)
http://www.nilc.org/ciwc/nwsltr/caup7.00.PDF

"California Recall Voting: Nuggets of California Gold for Voting
Behavior," by Michael P. McDonald, George Mason University. The Forum:
Vol. 1: No. 4, Article 6. (2003)
http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol1/iss4/art6/ (You can apply for free
access to this article with link on the right)

"Anglos still a majority at the polls," by Dan Walters. The Fresno
Bee. (Dec. 29, 2002)
http://www.fresnobee.com/columnists/walters/story/5740455p-6712301c.html


Some examples from Lexis Academic: (all are full text on Lexis)
-----------------------------------
Ventura County Star (California), November 18, 2000, Saturday, News;
Pg. A14, 997 words, What election? Many don't know or care APATHY
LIVES: Lack of cable TV among reasons given for not keeping up with
Bush-Gore battle, Tom Kisken Staff writer

The Daily News of Los Angeles, October 15, 2000, Sunday,, VIEWPOINT,, 816
words, VOTE? WHO, ME? MAYBE FOR EXTRA CREDIT;  THERE'S NOBODY TO HATE, SO WHY
CAST OUR BALLOTS?, JANE ROBISON


The San Francisco Chronicle, MARCH 17, 2002, SUNDAY,, FINAL EDITION, NEWS;,
Pg. A23, 903 words, Low primary turnout a sign of the times, say
voting experts, Joe Garofoli

Ventura County Star (California), November 13, 2002 Wednesday, Editorials;
Pg. B08, 747 words, Herdt: Elite class of state voters Older, wealthier, whiter
electorate rejects Prop. 52, Timm Herdt

Alameda Times-Star (Alameda, CA), June 8, 2003 Sunday, OP-ED, 840 words, So
who's to blame, us or them -- and who is them?

Scripps Howard News Service, June 04, 2003, Wednesday, COMMENTARY, 859
words, So who's to blame, us or them - and who's them?, PETER SCHRAG

San Gabriel Valley Tribune (San Gabriel Valley, CA), September 16, 2002
Monday, 987 words, Democracy is a precious and costly form of
government; Fed up Voters No Longer Going to the Polls


======


 At this point, I believe your question is well beyond the scope of a
$200 search unless you can place a reasonable number on the amount of
references you require in an answer. Since you need this information
by February 5th, I want to be very clear about your expectations. I do
not want to risk many more hours of research, only to post a list of
references that you feel is incomplete. To find "all" the published
information about this topic is a monumental task!

 Please let me know your feelings on this. I will be happy to continue
on if we can come to an agreement on a reasonable number of
references, as well as the time-frame for published data.

Thanks!

umiat

Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 31 Jan 2004 17:37 PST
Although I still have many more resources than those I have listed for
you to preview, I just wanted to provide a few more references for
California that I have compiled after a few more hours of research: (I
guess I can't seem to make myself stop!!)

"How Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Shape the California
Electorate," by Jack Citrin and Benjamin Highton. Public Policy
Institute of California. (2002)
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/R_1202JCR.pdf

"Municpal Elections in California: Turnout, Timing, and Competition,"
by Zoltan L Hajnal, Paul G. Lewis and Hugh Louch. Public Policy
Institute of California (2002)
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/R_302ZHR.pdf

"The Effect of Minority Districts and Minority Representation on
Political Participation in California," by Claudine Gay. Public Policy
Institute of California. (2001)
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/R_601CGR.pdf 


"The Faces of Diversity: Melting Pot Or Great Divide?" by Mark
Baldassare and Cheryl Katz. (This opinion article appeared in OC Metro
in the February 6, 2003 issue)
http://www.ppic.org/main/commentary.asp?i=403
"But Latinos have not participated in the political process as fully
as they could be. According to our recent surveys, only about half of
Orange County's Latino adults are registered to vote, compared to
nearly 9 in 10 whites. Latino voting today is limited by many factors,
such as lower citizenship rates, a more youthful population, and lower
incomes, education and homeownership rates than whites. Participation
among Latinos must be increased to ensure that their voices get heard
in the political process, especially since many depend on public
health and social service programs."

I will await your thoughts!

Clarification of Question by zoon-ga on 01 Feb 2004 10:52 PST
Thanks for checking back with me on this.  Based on the examples you
have provided, I believe I can help you to focus the rest of your work
by directing you, again, to the first part of my original question:
"1. Who are the California nonvoters (i.e. eligible but not
registered) and low-propensity voters (i.e. registered but not
participating)looking at all demographic factors, such as age, race
and ethnicity, income, etc.?"  What I am looking for hear is not what
keeps large cross sections of people from voting, but what barriers
and incentives to voting (or registering to vote) based on narrow
demographics. For example, what cultural barriers prevent Latino-,
African-, Vietnamese-American citizens from voting?  What prevents
young people from voting or registering to vote?  When they do vote or
register to vote, what do they say are the reasons?  While my ultimate
interest is specific to California, observations from research done
elsewhere, or nationally, to these questions, will be applicable in
California as well.

My second question is just an extension of the first.

I do not care about research that addresses why so many Democrats (or
Republicans or independents) did not vote in a particular election,
etc.; I am only interested in barriers and incentives to registering
to vote, or voting, among narrow demographic groups who are habitual
non-voters. Young people, economically disenfranchised, minority
groups, recent immigrants, children of immigrants.

As for the published sources, while I'm interested in having an
inventory of all research/surveys/polls, I apologize for the inference
that I also want an inventory of every newspaper article written about
research done by others -- I do not.  If, however, a survey is
conducted that addresses my questions, and the survey results are
published in the form of a magazine article, then I would like that
included in my inventory.  Thanks.  I hope this is helpful.  In case
you need further clarication, I will try to check my emial more
frequently. Being the weekend, I typicallly would not be online so
much.  During the week, between 8am and 5pm PST, I am online and
checking mail constantly.

Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 01 Feb 2004 14:06 PST
Hello, zoon-ga,

 Thank you for your clarification. At this point, I will gracefully
bow out. I have invested a significant amount of time researching your
question as originally posted and I believe I have provided you with
some good references that will still be applicable toward your newer,
more narrowly focused clarification. However, since we have come to no
agreement on the number of references which you would consider
acceptable, and I cannot guarantee that I can provide you with "an
inventory of "all" research/surveys/polls", there is no way I can
comfortably continue on this project. I will be happy to reconsider if
you are interested in having me locate whatever studies I can find
within a reasonable timeframe, as opposed to locating "all" that have
been published.

 I sincerely hope you can use some of the California studies I have
posted which include information on minority nonvoters.

 umiat
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