The madness of every four years: A comparative study of voting, candidate selection and turnout in Puerto Rico and the United States.
Camara-Fuentes, Luis Raul
1999
Abstract
The phenomenon of Puerto Rican voting has long bewildered political analysts and pundits. Puerto Rico has virtually the same formal institutional arrangements as the United States, yet turnout rates in Puerto Rico have been consistently higher since 1972 and its voting and registration laws have been historically more stringent and inflexible than those in the United States. By comparing two countries with such similar institutional settings I focus on the differences between them and study more closely the factors affecting turnout in each. Why then do Puerto Ricans vote at higher rates than Americans do? The answer lies in the political parties and the culture. Puerto Rican political parties are more disciplined than those in the US. Affiliation rates in Puerto Rico are higher than on the mainland. Parties in PR are dominant institutions, mobilizing people to vote irrespective of demographic variables. While in the US demographic variables such as age, education and income exert a strong influence on turnout, in Puerto Rico only age affects the probability of voting. Political patronage and status preferences (independence, federal statehood or Commonwealth, the current status) are also significant in affecting voting turnout. The political culture in the Island is also conducive to voting. It is similar to nineteenth century American political environment. People are surrounded by what some researchers have called the culture of the vote. This culture favors voting above all other options of political participation. Voting is perceived not only as necessary but as the only legitimate way available to participate and influence government. Finally, I also study why Puerto Ricans vote the way they do. To do this I focus on the historic 1996 general election in which incumbent governor Pedro Rossello won by a landslide. In this election, personal, performance and economic evaluations had a significant impact on the vote choice. Age was also an important variable. Young people favored the incumbent governor over opposition candidates. Above these variables, however, partisan affiliation accounted for much of the variation in the vote. This dissertation makes use of several data sources. To study voting turnout in Puerto Rico, I used an island-wide survey conducted by the Hispania Research Corporation in 1991. The data from this survey were compared with the 1988 American National Election Study. To study the voting patterns of Puerto Ricans I used the 1996 General Election Exit Poll, by Walter Diaz and Luis R. Camara of the University of Puerto Rico. This survey contains 511 interviews collected in the cities of San Juan and Mayaguez. The data from this survey were compared with the those from 1992 American National Election Study. These data were complemented by six in-depth interviews with campaign workers in Puerto Rico. These campaign workers, two from each of the main political parties, actively participated in campaign events during the 1992 and 1996 general election.Subjects
Candidate Selection Comparative Elections Every Four Madness Political Parties Puerto Rico Study Turnout United States Voting Years
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