{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31424"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31424","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Switch: A Case Study of Voter Turnout following Electoral Change in a School Board Election","abstract":"This paper attempts to shed light into the realm of school boards, a frequently overlooked topic in political science literature. This study examines the relationship between a school board electoral structure and voter turnout levels. In particular, the author hypothesizes that ward-based elections due to their inherent smallness have higher voter turnout levels than at-large elections. In crafting such a relationship a mixed-method approach was used combining elements found in case studies with an intervention analysis. The paper describes voter turnout levels from 1989 to 2007 for a single, medium-sized school district in Illinois that had switched its style of elections from at-large to ward. It was found that following the switch to ward elections turnout actually decreased. However, the results were not statistically significant. The variable of competitiveness was also tested as it was thought that the more competitive elections were the more voter turnout increases. Here again, the author found no relationship between competitiveness and the election structure in ward and at-large elections. In concluding, the author states that some unseen intervening variable such as information costs may be influencing the relationship and significance between voter turnout and election structure.","abstract_html":"This paper attempts to shed light into the realm of school boards, a frequently overlooked topic in political science literature. This study examines the relationship between a school board electoral structure and voter turnout levels. In particular, the author hypothesizes that ward-based elections due to their inherent smallness have higher voter turnout levels than at-large elections. In crafting such a relationship a mixed-method approach was used combining elements found in case studies with an intervention analysis. The paper describes voter turnout levels from 1989 to 2007 for a single, medium-sized school district in Illinois that had switched its style of elections from at-large to ward. It was found that following the switch to ward elections turnout actually decreased. However, the results were not statistically significant. The variable of competitiveness was also tested as it was thought that the more competitive elections were the more voter turnout increases. Here again, the author found no relationship between competitiveness and the election structure in ward and at-large elections. In concluding, the author states that some unseen intervening variable such as information costs may be influencing the relationship and significance between voter turnout and election structure.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Costa, Patrick John"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":"Political Science","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Brians, Craig Leonard"],"committee_members":["Jensen, Laura S.","Hult, Karen M."],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-02-21","date_published":"2011-02-21","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:09Z","subjects":["Voter Turnout","School Boards","School Board Elections","Ward Elections","At-large Elections"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-03062011-123953"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-03062011-123953","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31424","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Brians, Craig Leonard"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Jensen, Laura S.","Hult, Karen M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Costa, Patrick John"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:32:24Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:32:24Z","2011-04-13"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011-02-21"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Voter Turnout","School Boards","School Board Elections","Ward Elections","At-large Elections"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-03062011-123953"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31424"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper attempts to shed light into the realm of school boards, a frequently overlooked topic in political science literature. This study examines the relationship between a school board electoral structure and voter turnout levels. In particular, the author hypothesizes that ward-based elections due to their inherent smallness have higher voter turnout levels than at-large elections. In crafting such a relationship a mixed-method approach was used combining elements found in case studies with an intervention analysis. The paper describes voter turnout levels from 1989 to 2007 for a single, medium-sized school district in Illinois that had switched its style of elections from at-large to ward. It was found that following the switch to ward elections turnout actually decreased. However, the results were not statistically significant. The variable of competitiveness was also tested as it was thought that the more competitive elections were the more voter turnout increases. Here again, the author found no relationship between competitiveness and the election structure in ward and at-large elections. In concluding, the author states that some unseen intervening variable such as information costs may be influencing the relationship and significance between voter turnout and election structure."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Switch: A Case Study of Voter Turnout following Electoral Change in a School Board Election"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Brians, Craig Leonard"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Jensen, Laura S.","Hult, Karen M."],"dc:contributor.department":["Political Science"],"dc:creator":["Costa, Patrick John"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:32:24Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:32:24Z","2011-04-13"],"dc:date.issued":["2011-02-21"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper attempts to shed light into the realm of school boards, a frequently overlooked topic in political science literature. 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