Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Ever since Downs (1957), rational choice theory has been plagued by the so-called "paradox of voting,", i.e., the fact that so many people vote despite the infinitesimal expected return from casting a ballot. Despite considerable theoretical attention paid to this paradox, moreover, few attempts have been made to empirically investigate the full panoply of reasons that may sway the voters on Election Day. In this paper we argue that voter turnout can still be understood as an instance of purposive action if the costs and benefits that feed into the decision to vote is conceptualized more widely than in the purely instrumental Downsian approach. Based on both repeated cross-sectional and panel survey data from Sweden, we find the prime movers of voter turnout to be expressive incentives and civic duty. Thus, the voters' primary motive for turning out on Election Day is not to influence the outcome but to reap the intrinsic rewards of the act of voting itself.

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