Voting for the Very First Time: The Effect of Past Eligibility on Turnout
Year: 2012
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Based on individual-level register data from Denmark and Finland, we estimate the causal effect of past eligibility on turnout in two previously unexplored institutional contexts. Our dataset includes the official turnout for about 2.3 million adult Danes and about 81,000 Finns between the ages of 18 and 30. Applying the approach suggested by Meredith (2009), we use regression discontinuity design to compare the group of individuals who turned 18 just before the required date to become eligible in given elections with those who turned 18 just after it. Whereas previous studies from the U.S. context find a relatively unambiguous positive effect of past eligibility on future turnout, our results suggest that the second-time eligible voters actually have a lower propensity to vote in the next elections compared to the first-time voters. Being entitled to vote immediately after enfranchisement thus seems to encompass a special first-time boost.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Authors: Yosef Bhatti, Kasper M. Hansen, Hanna Wass
Institutions: University of Copenhagen, University of Helsinki
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2298602664