Voters, Absent and Present: A Review Essay

A review of two recent books on the history of voting participation in America displays some of the conceptual and methodological advances as well as some of the frailties which are characteristic of the "new political history." After summarizing the explanations which Bumbarn and Kleppner offer for the collapse of northern white turnout in the early part of the twentieth century, its partial revival during the 1930s, and its decline since 1960, I evaluate the theories and methods they use in order to determine how well-founded their conclusions are. Adopting a rational choice-inspired standpoint rather than their sociological approaches suggests interpretations of the early twentieth century and 1960-1980 changes which are somewhat at variance with theirs.