INTRODUCTION

Democracy, Voting, and Disenfranchisement in the United States: A Social Psychological Perspective 431
Kevin Lanning

NORMATIVE PERSPECTIVES: THE FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

The Psychology of Enfranchisement: Engaging and Fostering Inclusion of Members through Voting and Decision-Making Procedures 447
Celia M. Gonzalez and Tom R. Tyler

A Game-Theoretic View of Voting 467
Joachim I. Brueger and Melissa Acevedo

Electoral Simultaneity: Expressing Equal Respect 487
Dennis F. Thompson

DIFFERENTIAL PERSPECTIVES: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VOTER

The Psychological and Institutional Determinants of Early Voting 503
Paul Gronke and Daniel Krantz Toffey

Why Do People Vote? A Psychological Analysis of the Causes of Voter Turnout 525
Joshua Harder and Jon A. Krosnick

Beliefs about Deliberation: Personal and Normative Dimensions 551
Eugene Borgida, Keilah A. Worth, Brad Lippmann, Damla Ergun, and James Farr

DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVES: THE ROOTS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Political Participation and Cumulative Disadvantage: The Impact of Economic and Social Hardship on Young Citizens 571
Julianna Sandell Pacheco and Eric Pultzer

The "Antidemocratic Personality" Revisited: A Cross-NationalInvestigation of Working-Class Authoritarianism 595
Jaime L. Napier and John T. Jost

Race and Redistricting: What the Print Media Conveys to the Public about the Role of Race 619
Damla Ergun, Grace Deason, Eugene Borgida, and Guy-Uriel Charles

COMMENTARY

Will Democracy Win? 639
Gina V. Caprara

2007 SPSSI PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

Introduction to Irene Hanson Frieze's SPSSI Presidential Address 661
Marybeth Shinn

Social Policy, Feminism, and Research on Violence in Close Relationships 665
Irene H. Frieze

American democracy depends upon voting, yet for the individual, the benefits of voting appear largely intangible. In the present collection, psychologists, political scientists, and experts in election law present a multidisciplinary perspective on voting. Personality characteristics such as motivation, values, and efficacy are considered, as are demographic variables such as education, age, and social class. Voting is shaped, too, by institutions including schools and the media, and, evidently, by the laws and practices of government. A reciprocal relationship exists in the functions of voting for individual and society: The interplay between persons and institutions gives rise to the perception that a government is or is not legitimate, and to the sense that an individual does, or does not, belong.