Date of Award:

12-2020

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Political Science

Committee Chair(s)

Damon Cann

Committee

Damon Cann

Committee

Joshua Ryan

Committee

Randall Simmons

Abstract

Predicting voter behavior is a difficult task, however there are factors that suggest which candidates will be more successful. This study examined some factors that predict voter behavior in local elections and asks if local land-use authority can be a factor in predicting vote choice. Using survey responses collected from a sample of college students, answers suggest that some factors more strongly influence voter behavior than others. An analysis of survey results suggests that candidate party affiliation alone or candidate land-use attitudes alone are individually significant influences on voter decision making. However, combining effects of candidate party affiliation and candidate land-use attitudes strongly suggests that party affiliation and partisan influence far outweighs land-use in influencing voter decision making. Results of this study demonstrate that while local land-use authority is an issue that influences elections, it pales in comparison to the influence of party affiliation and voter partisan preferences. This discovery is important to understanding local electoral behavior, and how partisanship can be a dominant factor even in non-partisan elections.

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