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Floating Voters and Floating Activists

Political Change and Information

Kent State University, Ohio

Many studies document positive relationships between political information and campaign participation, but none investigates the relationship between information and interelection change in campaign participation. While studies of "floating voters" document negative relationships between information and floating, the author notes that activists are better informed than voters and investigates the relationship between knowledge and change in participation, comparing the process among voters and activists. The author shows low-information citizens enter and exit the electorate, while high-information citizens enter and exit the activist pool. The author concludes with an optimistic assessment of democratic change based on the theory that well-informed activists influence floating voters.

Key Words: floating voters • democratic change • political information • citizen capacity • political knowledge • interelection change • longitudinal change • campaign activities

Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 1, 124-134 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1065912906298594


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