Voting the Agenda:
Candidates, Elections, and Ballot Propositions
Stephen P. Nicholson

Stephen P. Nicholson, co-recipient of the 2006 Emerging Scholar Award; Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior Section, American Political Science Association

Cloth | 2005 | $41.00 / £23.95
208 pp. | 6 x 9 | 12 line illus. 20 tables.

Shopping Cart | Reviews | Table of Contents
Chapter 1 [HTML] or [PDF]

How do voters make decisions in low-information elections? How distinctive are these voting decisions? Traditional approaches to the study of voting and elections often fail to address these questions by ignoring other elections taking place simultaneously. In this groundbreaking book, Stephen Nicholson shows how issue agendas shaped by state ballot propositions prime voting decisions for presidential, gubernatorial, Senate, House, and state legislative races.

As a readily accessible source of information, the issues raised by ballot propositions may have a spillover effect on elections and ultimately define the meaning of myriad contests. Nicholson examines issues that appear on the ballot alongside candidates in the form of direct legislation. Found in all fifty states, but most abundant in those states that feature citizen-initiated ballot propositions, direct legislation represents a large and growing source of agenda issues.

Looking at direct legislation issues such as abortion, taxes, environmental regulation, the nuclear freeze, illegal immigration, and affirmative action, Nicholson finds that these topics shaped voters' choices of candidates even if the issues were not featured in a particular contest or were not relevant to the job responsibilities of a particular office.

He concludes that the agendas established by ballot propositions have a far greater effect in priming voters than is commonly recognized, and indeed, that the strategic use of initiatives and referenda by political elites potentially thwarts the will of the people.

Review:

"Stephen Nicholson's provocative book provides a solid theoretical foundation to explain the role that ballot measures have in setting the agenda and influencing vote choice in candidate races."--Daniel A. Smith, Political Science Quarterly

Endorsements:

"Not only is the idea Nicholson presents an original one, but his use of statewide initiatives and referenda as a vehicle for testing for the effects of agenda priming across electoral domains is inventive and cleverly executed. His approach will significantly influence the course of future work on electoral behavior."--Bruce Oppenheimer, Vanderbilt University

"This book will make a substantial contribution to our understanding of how issues affect the vote choice. Nicholson's focus on ballot initiatives is innovative, and the book will advance our understanding of how and why candidates and parties use these initiatives to structure the political agenda of a campaign."--Todd Donovan, Western Washington University

Table of Contents:

LIST OF FIGURES ix
LIST OF TABLES xi
PREFACE xiii CHAPTER 1: Kindred Votes:An Introduction 1
CHAPTER 2: A Theory of Agenda Voting 15
CHAPTER 3: Studying Agendas and Direct Legislation in U.S. Elections 32
CHAPTER 4: Ballot Measures and Congressional Election Agendas 42
CHAPTER 5: Priming the Freeze: Nuclear Freeze Ballot Measures as a Common Basis of Candidate Voting in State and Federal Elections 61
CHAPTER 6: Taking the Initiative: Illegal Immigrants, Affirmative Action, and Strategic Politicians in California's 1994 and 1996 Elections 91
CHAPTER 7: Direct Democracy: The People's Agenda? 132
NOTES 141
REFERENCES 149
INDEX 165

Subject Area:

• Political Science and International Relations

Shopping Cart:

For customers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia
Cloth: $41.00 ISBN13: 978-0-691-11684-6

For customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India
Cloth: £23.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-11684-6

Prices subject to change without notice

File created: 7/1/2008

Questions and comments to: webmaster@press.princeton.edu
Princeton University Press