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Abstract

Change in the American electorate has traditionally been studied by comparing the number of independents to the number of partisans, and comparing the impact of partisanship to the impact of issue voting. Stable numbers of partisans and stable correlations between partisanship and attitudes and behavior are interpreted to mean continuity in the electorate. These comparisons, though useful, ignore the possibility that the meaning of partisanship and the reasons behind its impact on attitudes and behavior may have changed as well. As the potential for independent behavior and political sophistication increases in the United States, the most sophisticated and rational partisans are able to lay aside their party labels, leaving fewer, less rational partisans. This argument is tested and supported using data from the National Election Surveys of 1952 through 1980.

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POLITICAL DISTILLATION

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