Kangaroos Vote, Joeys Don’t: The Effect of Peer Influence on College-Aged Voter Turnout for Local Elections
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In recent decades, young voter turnout on average has shown national declines in the United States. Many reasons for this are tied to a lack of understanding of the voting process, feelings of being uninformed, and political disinterest. The field of political science has been greatly interested in the voting behaviors of college-aged students due to this infrequent participation, however, most studies focus their scope upon national or state elections. Our research focuses on local elections to see how peers can influence traditionally less publicized and attended elections. We discussed with around 50% of one professor’s students at a large Texas public institution the specific ballot items on the local election ballot using an in-person, peer-led presentation and a video option. Examples of how those items could directly impact their daily lives were also presented. Each group (control and treatment) completed the same survey regarding their collegiate involvement, family voting habits, as well as political preferences, and other categories of interest prior to the presentation. After the treatment and the election, students completed a second survey describing their election day actions. Our results demonstrate a lack of impact that a single peer-led presentation has on young voter turnout as very few students voted. Overall, the presentation did not sway students to register or vote. While our data showed no statistical significance, the fact that some students voted who potentially would not have is still a success for democracy.
Subject
Young VotersInternal Efficacy
Civic Engagement
Voter Turnout
Voter Registration
Local Elections
Citation
Leslie, Katrina Elizabeth; Duty, Jessica (2022). Kangaroos Vote, Joeys Don’t: The Effect of Peer Influence on College-Aged Voter Turnout for Local Elections. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /196501.