THE INFLUENCE OF PRECINCT WORK ON VOTING BEHAVIOR

Abstract

The difficulty of measuring the influence of precinct work has led many social scientists to be skeptical of its effectiveness. Recent studies have confirmed the politicians' faith in this form of electioneering. This paper reports research on an election where the voters were particularly susceptible to precinct work, in a city (New Haven, Connecticut) where political machines are very strong. The author compares New Haven with other communities that have been studied, and explains the greater impact of precinct work in that city in terms of the differences referred to above.

Raymond E. Wolfinger is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stanford University.