Retrospective Voting Behavior in Local School Board Elections

• In Event: 33.078 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 33.078-22 - Governing Schools Today: Local Players

Abstract

Little work has explored school boards are a viable mechanism for public accountability. Using data from California school board elections and local school performance information, this study seeks to contribute to this literature by answering three questions: First, to what extent do student achievement trends influence voter turnout? Second, to what extent do these same trends influence incumbent fortunes? Third, do different types of information influence these outcomes to different degrees? Preliminary results find that the largest associations are between lagged STAR scores and total voter turnout. Little evidence was found for any influences on incumbent fortunes. This work provides some evidence that citizens do exhibit retrospective voting behavior in education, but that it is limited.

Author

• Richard Blissett, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College