Determinants of Abstention in the United States House of Representatives: An Analysis of the 102nd through the 107th Sessions

• Main Author: Kromer, Mileah Kay
• Other Authors: Kathleen Bratton
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: LSU 2005
• Subjects: Political Science
• Online Access: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04142005-171033/

This paper examines the factors that influence roll call voting abstention in the United States House of Representatives. I control for factors both at the individual level and the institutional level. My data set includes all members of the House of Representatives from the 102nd (1991-1992) through the 107th (2001-2002) sessions of Congress. It is my intention to contribute to our scholarly understanding of abstention behavior in the United States House of Representatives and to help future research on Congressional roll call voting behavior. I find strong empirical support for individual level effects, such as seniority, last of term of Congressional service, and ideology. I also find support that institutional effects, such as party dominance, impact roll call voting abstention.