Richard G. Niemi is Don Alonzo Watson professor of political science at the University of Rochester. He is coauthor
of Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2001-2002 (CQ Press, forthcoming), Term Limits In The State Legislatures
(2000), and Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn (1998). He has written numerous articles on civic education,
political socialization, voting, and legislative districting.
Summary
The sixteen readings in this volume, all of which are newly selected for this fourth edition, and most of which
are reproduced in their entirety, are organized around six debates:
Why is voter turnout low, and why is it declining?
Does the public's lack of political information matter?
What determines the vote, and to what extent do campaigns matter?
Is divided government intentional on the part of voters?
How much does politics affect party identification?
Is the party system changing?
Niemi and Weisberg supply section introductions that weave the readings together, establish useful context, and
help to sort out conflicting interpretations and diverging opinions that emerge across the chapters. Collectively,
the readings and supporting essays in Controversies in Voting Behavior provide an illuminating look at some of
the most lively and fascinating issues being debated in this field today.
Table of Contents
1. The Study of Voting and Elections
I. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
2. Why Is Voter Turnout Low (And Why Is It Declining)?
3. Robert D. Putnam, Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America, PS, 1995, 664-683.
4. Steven J. Rosenstone and John Mark Hansen, Solving the Puzzle of Participation in Electoral Politics, Mobilization,
Participation, and Democracy in America, ch. 7.
5. Mark Franklin, Electoral Participation, in LeDuc, Niemi and Norris, eds., Comparing Democracies, pp. 216-35.
II. POLITICAL INFORMATION
6. Does Lack of Political Information Matter?
7. Scott L. Althaus, Information Effects in Collective Preferences, APSR, 1998, 545-58
8. Richard R. Lau and David P. Redlawsk, Voting Correctly, APSR, 1997, 585-98.
9. Benjamin I. Page and Robert Y. Shapiro, Rational Public Opinion, The Rational Public, pp. 14-17, 37, 39, 41-47,
49-52, 54-56.
III. VOTE DETERMINANTS
10. What Determines the Vote?
11. Richard Nadeau and Michael S. Lewis-Beck, National Economic Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections, JOP, forthcoming.
12. Warren E. Miller and J. Merrill Shanks, Multiple-Stage Explanation of Political Preferences, The New American
Voter, pp. 189-93, 284-92, 351-60, 459, 477-84, 487-91.
13. Milton Lodge and Marco Steenbergen, with Shawn Brau, The Responsive Voter: Campaign Information and the Dynamics
of Candidate Evaluation, APSR, 1995, 309-26.
IV. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT
14. Do Voters Prefer Divided Government?
15. Morris Fiorina, Balancing Explanations of Divided Government, pp. 63-65, 72-81, 151-53.
16. Barry C. Burden and David C. Kimball, A New Approach to the Study of Ticket Splitting, APSR, Sept. 1998, 533-44.
V. PARTY IDENTIFICATION
17. How Much Does Politics Affect Party Identification?
18. Michael B. MacKuen, Robert S. Erikson, and James A. Stimson, Macropartisanship, APSR, Dec. 1989, 598-611.
19. Warren E. Miller, Generational Changes and Party Identification, Political Behavior, Sept 1992, 332-60.
20. Donald Green, Eric Shickler, and Bradley Palmquist, Partisan Stability: Evidence from Aggregate Data, (essay
written for this volume)
21. Robert S. Erikson, Michael B. MacKuen, and James A. Stimson, Macropartisanship: The Permanent Memory of Partisan
Evaluation, (essay written for this volume)
VI. PARTY SYSTEM CHANGE
22. Is the Party System Changing?
23. Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Party Coalitions in Transition: Partisanship and Group Support, 1952-96,
in Weisberg and Box-Steffensmeier, Reelection 1996: How Americans Voted, pp. 162-80.
24. John H. Aldrich and Richard G. Niemi, The Sixth American Party System: Electoral Change, 1952-1992, in Craig,
Broken Contract, pp. 87-109.
25. Larry M. Bartels, Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952- 1996, AJPS, Jan., 2000.
