https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Button2020

Button, E. D. & Diallo, A. B. (2020). Voting behavior of active duty military spouses: Trends in interest and participation. Armed Forces & Society, 46(3), 351-375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X19901295

Although the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) was created to ensure that all service members and their families are aware of their right to vbote, military spouses may experience difficulty voting due to repeated transitions and displacement from their place of residence to be with their service member spouse or living on a military installation outside of the United States. This study used Matsusaka’s information theory-based economic model to examine active-duty military spouses’ voting interest and participation. The theory suggests that most citizens believe it is their duty to vote, but some choose not to vote due to insufficient information on the candidates. Data from the Defense Manpower Data Center’s 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Active Duty Military Spouses (N = 6,491) were used to examine two research questions: what factors (e.g., receiving information via different mediums about voting, voting history, demographics) influence an active-duty military spouse’s (1) voting interest and (2) voting participation? Results suggest that receiving more voting information, participating in voting in the past, and being older were linked to a higher likelihood of voting.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X19901295

Other

Air Force
Army
Marine Corps
Navy

Spouse of service member or veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Aged (65 yrs & older)
Very old (85 yrs & older)

Cross-Sectional Study
Secondary Analysis

Button, Eric D., Diallo, Anne B.

Despite the expansion of absentee voting protections as recently as 2016, Service member spouses have not enjoyed the same level of voting protections as Service members. Active duty military spouses, uniquely positioned between military service and civilian life, are arguably as important to the election process as their Service member counterparts. Thus, we examine the voting behaviors of this underserved and seldom studied subpopulation. Matsusaka’s information theory–based economic model of voter turnout provides our framework for identifying determinants that shape the voting interest and participation of active duty military spouses. We analyze the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s 2010 Post-Election Voting Survey of Active Duty Military Spouses utilizing logistic regression models. We found that voting interest and participation were increased among respondents who planned to vote, received more election information, voted within the previous 6 years, and who were older; however, voting interest and participation were not diminished by absentee status.

SAGE Publications

Article
REACH Publication

Public Policy PhD Program, Graduate School and International Education, The University of Arkansas, EDB
Department of Political Science, J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Arkansas, ABD