To vote or not to vote: Abstaining from voting in union representation elections

We conducted two studies addressing abstaining from voting in union representation elections. In Study 1 of a faculty representation election, we showed that compared to voters abstainers possessed less extreme work and union attitudes, believed less in the ability of their vote to affect the election outcomes, and were less involved in the election (e.g., less interested, felt less responsibility to vote). To assess the practical utility of these findings, Study 2 used vignettes in a 2 (traditional bread-and-butter issues) × 2 (emerging issues related to fairness) × 2 (voting instrumentality) × 2 (responsibility to vote) experimental manipulation. Results showed that the likelihood of abstaining is reduced when efforts to emphasize the responsibility to vote are presented together with information on both traditional and emerging issues. The two studies show why people abstain from voting in union representation elections, and suggest how abstaining might be reduced. Conceptual implications, practical interventions and research directions raised by the two studies are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.