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Impact of organizational vitality on Black voter turnout in the South

Party Politics: The International Journal for the Study of Political Parties and Political Organizations

Published online on

Abstract

In the voting behaviour literature, political organizations are often mentioned as playing an important role in mobilizing a deactivated electorate. Nevertheless, researchers have paid little attention to the relationship between organization strength and Black voter participation. In this study, a direct test of the organizational strength hypothesis is examined by utilizing official voter turnout data at the county level from the November 2004 elections. Controlling for socio-demographic factors, campaign factors and the impact of Black Churches, the findings show that there is a positive and significant relationship between political organizations and Black turnout. The findings suggest that the Democratic Party and civil rights organizations can play a critical role in promoting Black turnout if they improve upon their organizational features.