US Voting Behaviour and the Participation Crisis
Voting behaviour in the USA is shaped by long-term factors such as party identification and demographic patterns, alongside short-term factors such as retrospective evaluation of the incumbent party's record, candidate image and the dominant issues in a given election.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Split the factors shaping how Americans vote into long-term (party identification, demographic patterns such as race, gender, education, religion and region) and short-term (retrospective evaluation of the incumbent, candidate image, dominant campaign issues) and be ready to weigh them against each other for a specific election.
- Learn the difference between realignment (a 'critical election' produces a lasting shift in party support among particular groups, e.g. the New Deal coalition of the 1930s) and dealignment (a general, longer-term weakening of voters' attachment to any party), and be able to argue which better fits recent US elections.
- Learn the main explanations offered for comparatively low US turnout: the decentralised, largely opt-in state-run registration system (unlike more automatic enrolment processes in some other democracies), state-level voter ID requirements, and the sheer frequency of elections (including primaries) contributing to voter fatigue.
- Learn that voter ID and related state election rules are genuinely contested: proponents present them as safeguards against fraud, while critics present them as barriers that disproportionately suppress turnout among certain groups, and a strong answer presents both framings rather than assuming one is simply correct.
- For a question on the causes of the participation crisis, weigh structural/administrative explanations (registration and ID rules, election frequency) against attitudinal explanations (declining trust in government, a sense that one's vote makes little difference, weakening party identification through dealignment).
- Always name a specific demographic pattern (e.g. a strong tendency for Black voters to support the Democratic Party, or a growing educational divide in voting patterns) rather than a vague reference to 'demographics matter', since precision is what the mark scheme rewards.
Worked example
Assess whether dealignment is now a better explanation of US voting behaviour than realignment.
- Define both terms precisely: realignment is a lasting shift in which groups support which party, typically following a single 'critical election'; dealignment is a longer-term general weakening of voters' attachment to any party.
- Build the case for realignment still applying: some analysts point to ongoing shifts in which demographic groups support each party, for example changes in the educational divide between the parties' bases, as evidence of an ongoing, if gradual, realignment rather than a simple decline in attachment.
- Build the case for dealignment: a declining share of voters strongly identify with either major party, and voters have become more willing to split their support between parties for different offices or to swing between parties from one election to the next based on short-term factors, which is the hallmark of dealignment rather than a lasting realignment towards one side.
- Add a nuance: the two are not mutually exclusive, a period of general dealignment can still see specific demographic groups realign towards a party, so the honest picture may combine both processes rather than requiring a single answer.
- Conclude with a supported judgement on which process better characterises the overall pattern in recent elections, while acknowledging that gradual, group-specific realignment and general dealignment can coexist.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is 'party identification'?Show answer
Answer: A voter's ongoing psychological attachment to a political party, which shapes their voting behaviour over time independent of any single election's specific issues.
Q2What is the difference between realignment and dealignment?Show answer
Answer: Realignment is a lasting shift in which groups support which party, usually following a single 'critical election'; dealignment is a general, longer-term weakening of voters' attachment to any party.
Q3Give one named example of a realigning election or period in US history.Show answer
Answer: The New Deal coalition formed in the 1930s (or the Reagan-era political shift of the 1980s).
Q4What is 'retrospective voting'?Show answer
Answer: Voting based on an evaluation of the incumbent party's or president's past record in office, rather than on future policy promises.
Q5Give one reason offered for the USA's decentralised approach to voter registration contributing to lower turnout.Show answer
Answer: Because registration is largely opt-in and organised at the state level rather than automatic, some eligible voters never complete the registration step needed before they can vote.
Q6What argument do supporters of state voter ID laws make in their favour?Show answer
Answer: That they are a safeguard against voter fraud and help protect the integrity of elections.
Q7What argument do critics of state voter ID laws make against them?Show answer
Answer: That they act as a barrier that disproportionately reduces turnout among certain groups of voters, amounting to a form of voter suppression.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Politics exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain and analyse three factors that help explain the USA's comparatively low voter turnout.
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Assess whether dealignment is now a better explanation of US voting behaviour than realignment.
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See real A Level Politics past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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