Silencing the seventh trumpet: Analyzing the effect of private schooling on voting behavior

Abstract

The United States has one of the lowest election turnout rates in the developed world. Consequently, social scientists are perpetually seeking to expand upon their knowledge of what factors are associated with voting, or the lack thereof. Commonly identified factors including age, income, race, and educational attainment have been studied extensively. However, while the quantity of education is deemed important, the type of education is overlooked. The limited literature that exists on the topic suggests that private schools have a positive effect on civic outcomes, including voter participation. In using a rich, nationally representative dataset—the Understanding America Study based out of the University of Southern California—this study reexamines whether attending a private school has an effect on whether Americans vote. It also sheds light on a heretofore-unanswered question: How does private schooling affect which candidate an individual supports? Overall, the data indicate that private schooling appears to have no impact on voter turnout, but that attending some private school appears to have a liberalizing effect.