Voting and Not Voting in Early 18th-Century English Parliamentary Elections
Voting and Not Voting in Early 18th-Century English Parliamentary Elections
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18 世纪初英国议会选举中的投票与不投票
DOI：
10.1111/1750-0206.12720
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发表时间：
2024
影响因子：
0.2
通讯作者：
Dudley C
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dudley C
本文使用了28本民意调查书籍的数据，以探讨18世纪世纪早期英国议会选举（1710年至1735年）中选民的行为。这一时期的选民从一次选举到下一次选举都表现出高度的党派忠诚。但选民也很有可能在两次选举之间退出选民。1734年苏塞克斯郡选举的一个案例研究表明，即使在明确承诺投票给某个候选人或某组候选人的选民中，也有相当大的比例没有投票。虽然一些不投票可以解释为试图避免不讨好强大的赞助人，但本文认为，选民需要有动力出现在投票站。世纪早期的选举文化--款待、舞会、候选人的公开露面等--应该被理解为试图动员而不是说服潜在的选民。
This article uses data from 28 poll books to explore voter behaviour over time in early 18th‐century English parliamentary elections (from 1710 to 1735). Voters in this period exhibited a high degree of partisan loyalty from one election to the next. But voters were also quite likely to drop out of the electorate between elections. As a case study of Sussex elections in 1734 shows, even among voters who made a definite promise to vote for a given candidate or set of candidates, there was a significant proportion who did not vote. While some non‐voting can be explained as an attempt to avoid disobliging powerful patrons, this article argues that voters needed to be motivated to appear at the polls. The electoral culture of the early 18th century – treats, balls, public appearances by the candidates, etc. – should be understood as attempts to mobilise rather than to persuade potential voters.