The Formation of Voting Habits

Rather than adhering to the cost-benefit calculus often employed in the study of turnout, a recent stream in this literature refers to voting as habit forming. The empirical findings supporting this developmental approach are still scarce, however. Using voting-age discontinuities among almost equally aged individuals, this study enables the identification of the effect of voting in one election on turnout in future elections. Tracing individuals for more than 30 years of their lives, the long-term effect of early voting experiences on people's turnout profiles is also examined. The findings show early voting experiences shape future voting profiles. Moreover, casting a ballot does not boost non-electoral participation.