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Do nonvoters who say they voted bias electoral participation research? Early studies said they do not, but Bernstein, Chadha, and Montjoy concluded that overreporters alter the effects of most independent variables. This research tests whether overreporters bias conclusions about additional untested variables and whether we obtain the same results as Bernstein and his coauthors when we test different models. Overreporters bias the coefficients of only a small proportion of independent variables in more typical models, although overreporting is more problematic than the early studies reported. Specifically, in the models this research tests, overreporters change the effects of African American race, marital status, Southern residence, and closing date on presidential election turnout and African American race, marital status, Hispanic ethnicity, occupation, and open seat races on midterm turnout. A warning about how overreporting bias affects, or may affect, their conclusions should accompany studies that include these, or other,untested variables.

This article supports the Converse party support model in Britain and more generally. The Converse theory, which has implications for electoral stability, is that public support for political parties comes from individuals whose partisanship strengthens as they gain experience in voting for a party. Abramson recently concluded the theory does not apply in Britain because generational change and historical (period) effects account for partisan intensities. He argued that even if period effects concealed life cycle gains, the theory would not apply because historical events in Britain—and in the United States—are too modest. From British panel data, this article reports the strongest evidence to date supporting life cycle gains in partisanship. Cohort equations show generational change in addition, as a secondary explanation. Cohort equations also disclose which historical events caused dealignment. Dealignment periods in both Britain and the United States are limited, and the events that produced them are rare.

Data from General Social Surveys are used to test the effect of voluntary association & church involvement on presidential-election turnout in the US, 1972-1992. The 1996 National Election Study (NES), supplemented by 1984, 1988, & 1992 NESs, is used to test the byproduct & direct mobilization theories. Findings suggest that both nonreligious & religious group activities are moderately important predictors of turnout in all elections. Increases in civic skills do not explain group effects, & the group effects of participatory predispositions & of direct mobilization are weak. Additional theories are needed to explain the relationship between voluntary & religious group involvement & turnout. An increase in sense of community may explain how group involvement stimulates turnout, or group activity & turnout may be manifestations of the same underlying social participation construct. 3 Tables, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.