An Experimental Comparison of Question Forms Used to Reduce Vote Overreporting

In: Electoral Studies, Band 25, Heft 4, S. 751-759

Abstract

Via telephone, a national probability sample of 1464 respondents randomly received one of three question versions of a voter turnout question in the months of December, January, & February, following the November 1998 Congressional elections in the United States. The long version form contained memory cueing techniques & face-saving response options, the short form, modeled after the 2000 American National Election Studies (ANES) question, included only the face-saving response options, & the standard form, modeled after ANES questions used before 2000, included neither. The long form led to significantly lower reported turnout in comparison to both the short & standard forms, indicating that the long form successfully reduced vote overreporting in comparison to the other question versions. Tables, Appendixes, References. [Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.]