Descriptive Elections

Empowering the American Electorate

By (author) Jeanette Morehouse Mendez, Rebekah Herrick

Publication date:

23 June 2016

Length of book:

162 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498530293

Elections are in trouble with general low levels of interest and turnout; Jeanette Morehouse Mendez and Rebekah Herrick suggest that if candidates looked more like America does, these problems would decrease. They call these elections where candidates differ in key social demographic traits descriptive elections. They predict that races that have candidates of different race and/or gender will see higher voter turnout out, because voters will be more interested in these races and will have less alienation and indifference. In addition, they predict that voters’ stereotypes/gender preferences, as well as elite behavior, can contribute to greater voter engagement. They also predict that campaigns in these elections will discuss a wider variety of issues, and the media will do likewise. They test their expectations by examining the gender mix of candidates in gubernatorial, congressional, and state legislative races. The results suggest that voters in mixed-gender and women-only elections have less alienation, less indifference, and greater interest. They also are more likely to vote. The results offer more modest evidence that campaigns and media coverage differ in these races. Thus the authors conclude that voters’ gender stereotypes and preferences have a larger effect on voters’ engagements in descriptive elections.

Preface
Chapter 1: The Theory of Descriptive Elections
Chapter 2: The Effects of Descriptive Elections on Turnout
Chapter 3: Effects of Descriptive Elections on Voter Engagement
Chapter 4: Descriptive Elections and Campaign Ads
Chapter 5: Descriptive Elections, Issues and Media Coverage
Chapter 6: Descriptive Elections in State Legislative Races
Chapter 7: Conclusion
Appendix 1: Survey script for scenarios used with student survey
Appendix 2: Survey script for scenarios used with MTurk survey
Appendix 3: List of Races
Appendix 4: List of Issues Coded
Appendix 5: List of Traits Coded

Mendez and Herrick offer a fresh perspective on diversity and U.S. elections. With new data and a host of analyses, they advance the notion of ‘descriptive elections’ and identify the significance of different types of elections for voter engagement and turnout. They show that mixed-gender contests can alter attitudes and behavior, providing important evidence of how voters use gender as a cue. With attention to multiple levels of office and a focus on electoral contests—rather than candidates—this book advances representation research in interesting ways.