Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Voting Behavior in the Context of U.S. Federalism

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

This Doctoral Dissertation Research Support investigation examines how the federal structure of American political institutions affects the way in which individuals translate policy opinions into voting behavior. A theoretical framework pays particular attention to citizens' ability to make different attributions of responsibility for policymaking and policy performance across different levels of government in a federal system. Specific hypotheses focus on the affect such responsibility attributions have on the linkage between policy opinions and federal voting behavior. The hypothesized relationships will be analyzed by collecting original survey data on citizen attitudes about various policy areas and the level of governments they deem responsible for those policies. This dissertation has implications for understanding empirical patterns of American federal voting that heretofore have been understudied. The model produces specific predictions regarding those who would be more likely to vote for different parties at different levels of government and for those who turnout for lower offices, but not higher ones.