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Why People Decide to Participate in State Politics

¹ University of South Carolina
² University of Colorado at Boulder

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wolakj{at}colorado.edu.

	Abstract

Many have investigated who participates in politics and why they choose to do so. Here, the authors consider where people choose to participate. Using survey data from the American Citizen Participation Study, the authors investigate why people choose to participate in state politics versus local or national venues. If the decision of where to participate is resource driven, then people will engage in state politics for the same reasons they participate in politics generally. But if participatory choices reflect one’s motivation and incentives for action, then the reasons to engage in state politics will be unique, connected to individual interest and political environments.

First published on August 25, 2009
Political Research Quarterly 2009, doi:10.1177/1065912909343581


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