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Youth Turnout: Adolescents' Attitudes in Ontario

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2008

Cameron D. Anderson  and
Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant
Cameron D. Anderson*
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario
Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant*
Affiliation:
Queen's University
*
Cameron D. Anderson, Department of Political Science, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2, cander54@uwo.ca.
Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, Department of Political Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6, egg@queensu.ca.
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Abstract

Abstract. The last two decades have witnessed dramatic downswings in voter turnout. Turnout decline among the youngest voters has been particularly pronounced, even discounting for normal life-cycle effects. Voting and abstention are habitual, so initial turnout decisions set the course for the life span. Consequently, greater attention to the immediate pre-adult years is necessary. This is the task we undertake using survey data on Ontario adolescents' attitudes toward voting.

Résumé. Les deux dernières décennies témoignent d'un déclin dramatique de la participation électorale. Chez les plus jeunes électeurs, cette tendance s'avère particulièrement prononcée, même en tenant compte des effets habituels du cycle de vie. Le fait de voter ou de s'en abstenir sont une question d'habitude, de sorte que la décision initiale de pparticiper ou non tend à déterminer le comportement pour la vie. Il importe donc d'accorder plus d'attention aux années précédant immédiatement l'âge adulte. C'est la tâche que nous entreprenons en nous appuyant sur les données de sondages portant sur l'attitude des adolescents de l'Ontario à l'égard du vote.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , September 2008 , pp. 697 - 718
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2008

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