Voting Preferences and the Environment in the American Electorate: The Discussion Extended

Accepted wisdom has it that the issue of environmental quality has little or no impact on national elections. In the only systematic statistical analysis addressing the subject, Guber (2001) concluded that the environment did not have a significant impact on assessments of presidential candidates, and that the potential for issue voting on the environment was quite limited. Utilizing the same survey data, this research reexamines the environment's influence on citizens' assessments of presidential candidates and, in turn, voters' choices. A review of survey respondents' perceptions of the environment suggests the substitution of a different environment variable into Guber's original model. This revision confirms the impact of the environment on both citizens' evaluations of presidential candidates and their presidential votes. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these new findings in light of past research, focusing on the framing and perception of the issue of environmental quality.