The Road Not Taken. Effects of residential mobility on local electoral turnout |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Durham University, Department of Geography, Lower Mountjoy, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom;2. University of Oulu, Department of Geography, PO Box 3000 90014, Finland;1. Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra, Colégio de S. Jerónimo, Largo D. Dinis, Apartado 3087, 3000-995 Coimbra, Portugal;2. Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain;3. Departament de Geografia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain;1. Department of Geography, University of Montreal, Pavillon 520 Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal QC H2V 2B8, Canada;2. Instituto Pensar, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cra 7 No. 40A - 54 Bogotá D.C. Colombia;1. Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University, IV5, Innovation Village, Cheetah Road, Coventry, CV1 2TL, UK;2. Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK;3. Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z2, Canada;4. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK;5. School of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK;6. Department of Politics and International Studies, Social Sciences Building, The University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK |
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| Abstract: | Although the effects of population stability on electoral turnout rates are relatively well-known, the role of the characteristics of hosting cities in this relationship are largely unexplored. This paper analyzes the moderating effect of city size on the relationship between residential mobility and electoral turnout. Residential mobility is known to depress civic engagement and political participation at the local level. We argue that this relationship is moderated by the characteristics of hosting cities, approached through city size. The main argument is that smaller cities offer better chances to newcomers to reconnect to the political process. Working with census data from more than 5500 different municipalities, we find that city size has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between residential mobility and turnout. On the one hand, residential mobility and city size do have separate negative effects on turnout, but on the other, the expected negative effects of mobility on turnout are actually stronger in larger than in smaller municipalities. Results indicate, therefore, that smaller communities not only provide more favorable conditions for political participation to their life-long residents, but they also seem to offer newcomers better chances to reconnect to the political process than larger cities. |
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| Keywords: | Residential mobility Population growth Electoral turnout City size |
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