Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Political Science

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

The connection between economic inequality and unequal democratic engagement has inspired an enduring vein of interest since academic antiquity. Research suggests income inequality has a negative effect on political participation, yet a question remains among the American electorate: Do individuals across income groups share economic insecurities from increasing inequality or do distinct groups democratically disengage?

To empirically investigate, I consider the context of election salience and the contingent role that voter turnout misreporting or “faux-voters” play in this relationship. I dissect the “rich” verses “poor” distinction into five income groups to explore electoral motivations and malaise of middle-income individuals and rely on resource, relative power, and conflict theories to theoretically tether my analysis. I utilize two datasets with traditional turnout variables and five alternative measures to evaluate the inequality-participation nexus from 1974 to 2020. I estimate a series of logit regression models to observe the effects of state-level income inequality on (1) self-reported turnout, (2) validated turnout, and (3) five modes of political participation.

My findings echo expectations that inequality has a demobilizing effect on the electorate. Furthermore, I find the strongest negative effect among middle-income groups, with validated models showing a significant negative effect overall. Remarkably, I find inequality has a greater negative effect in salient, presidential elections for validated voters, but the opposite effect among self-reported voters. This unanticipated finding illustrates the importance of turnout measurement in modeling the effects of inequality and the significance of faux-voters, who misreport turnout and misalign the accuracy of turnout models.

Further findings support my faux-voter hypothesis across elections and surveys but appear exclusive to variable of self-reported turnout. Additionally, negative effects of inequality can translate to different modes of participation, significantly decreasing the likelihood of attending a political gathering, donating, or working for a campaign. However, these alternative measures are not susceptible to faux-voter misreporting and showcase a diversity of effects across income groups.

This dissertation provides valuable insight into the inequality-participation nexus for the middle of the income distribution and reveals the severity of faux-voters envenoming our electoral understanding of increasing inequality in what it means for the malaise of American voters and the future of American democracy.

Date

1-26-2025

Committee Chair

Garand, James C.

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