Voter turnout and candidate strategies in American elections

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Abstract

Most spatial models of two-candidate competition imply that candidates have electoral incentives to present similar, centrist policies. We modify the standard Downsian model to include three observations supported by empirical research on American elections: that voters are prepared to abstain if neither competitor is sufficiently attractive (abstention due to alienation) or if the candidates are insufficiently differentiated (abstention due to indifference); that voters are influenced by factors such as education, race, and partisanship that are not directly tied to the candidates' positions in the currant campaign; and that voters' nonpolicy characteristics correlate with their policy preferences. Our results suggest that voters' turnout decisions and their nonpolicy characteristics, even if the candidates in the course of a campaign cannot manipulate the latter, are nonetheless necessary for understanding candidates' policy strategies.

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APA

Adams, J., & Merrill, S. (2003). Voter turnout and candidate strategies in American elections. Journal of Politics, 65(1), 161–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2508.t01-1-00008

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