The Impact of District Magnitude on Political Efficacy and Participation.

Modern democracies rely on the participation of their citizens to function properly. This paper investigates how district magnitude affects political efficacy and participation. District magnitude determines is the number of people who serve a district and it influences the number of candidates and parties that participate in elections (Cox 1997; Duverger 1963). Based upon previous work, I theorize that there is a link or tie between voters and politicians and as the district magnitude increases from one to two to three and so on, the closeness or link between voters and politicians gets weaker (Norris 2001; Powell 2000; Sartori 1997). This closeness is based on several factors. Voters in systems with smaller districts have fewer candidates and parties from which to choose, making it easier for them to recognize elected officials and distinguish their different policy positions (Powell 2000). Fewer candidates also help to create a clarity of responsibility for the voter about whom to contact when in need of assistance and whom to hold accountable for their performance in office (Powell 2000). Due to the heightened identifiability of candidates and elected officials, there is pressure to maintain close relationships with voters (Fenno 1978; Norris 2001, 2004). Utilizing data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems I found that generally, voters in smaller district magnitudes have more political efficacy and are more likely to participate in politics than are voters from larger magnitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]