Reassessing the Theory and Measures of Non-Voting Political Participation in the American Electorate

Abstract

Despite a vast body of literature on political participation, scholarship often overlooks partisan and ideological differences between voting and non-voting participation. Whereas voting signals partisan support, we argue non-voting participation allows individuals to exercise ideological ideals before an election and can thus increase the likelihood of voting. Using data from the 2020 American National Election Studies survey (N=8,280) and 2020 Cooperative Election Study (N=61,000), we find non-voting participation indeed serves a more ideological function compared to voting. We also add to literature that links non-voting participation with a higher likelihood of voting by demonstrating this effect is strongest for pure Independents. These phenomena hold across three analyses and amidst a wide range of antecedents, providing strong evidence to suggest non-voting participation is more ideologically-driven than voting and is especially important for those who do not identify with one of the two major political parties.

Distrusting the Process: Electoral Trust, Operational Ideology, and Non-Voting Political Participation in the 2020 American Electorate

“…We also cannot rule out potential measurement error (see e.g., Ansolabehere and Hersh 2012), nor can we yet determine whether results using the 12-item measure of NVP or the two-item measure of electoral trust are generalizable to other election cycles. Nevertheless, our findings are consistent with previous analyses using these data (Fitz and Saunders 2023) in that they are robust to analyses using an abbreviated six-item measure of NVP (Appendix E). They are also robust to tests that further assess how issue preferences/ideology moderate the relationship between electoral trust and NVP (Appendix F).…”

“…Whereas voting can be characterized as an institutionalized act that signals support for one's partisan team (Green, Palmquist, and Schickler 2004), NVP is a noninstitutionalized (Verba and Nie 1972;Oser 2022), more ideologically-driven act (Fitz and Saunders 2023) that can increase the likelihood of voting (Settle et al 2016). Operational ideology also precedes NVP (Argyle and Pope 2022); further, the decision of whether to participate differently (or for some, whether to participate at all) is often rooted in issue preferences and negative affect (Abramowitz 2010;Wojcieszak, Baek, and Delli Carpini 2010).…”

“…Operational ideology also precedes NVP (Argyle and Pope 2022); further, the decision of whether to participate differently (or for some, whether to participate at all) is often rooted in issue preferences and negative affect (Abramowitz 2010;Wojcieszak, Baek, and Delli Carpini 2010). Engaging in NVP is generally more common among liberals than conservatives (van der Meer, van Deth, andScheepers 2009, 1429), altogether suggesting liberal ideology-in particular, liberal issue preferences/operational ideology (Conover and Feldman 1981)-has a positive effect on NVP (Fitz and Saunders 2023).…”