Influence of the Number of Statewide Referenda Involving Emotionally-Charged Issues on Voter Turnout, 2006 (Formula) (Report‪)‬

Introduction As Putnam (2000, p. 35) states, "Voting is by a substantial margin the most common form of political activity, and it embodies the most fundamental democratic principle of equality ... Moreover, like the canary in the mining pit, voting is an instructive proxy measure of broader social change." Indeed, Putnam (2000, p. 35) informs us that "... recent evidence suggests that the act of voting itself encourages volunteering and other forms of good citizenship."