Overreporting of voting participation as a function of identity

This paper proposes an explanation of the overreporting of voting participation based in Stryker's identity theory (1980), integrating the social pressure approach of Bernstein, Chadha, and Montjoy (2001). A set of logistic regression models is estimated to predict the propensity to overreport using indicators of extensive and intensive commitments to a political identity. Models are tested using vote verification data from five years of the American National Election Studies (1978, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1990). Identity commitments are strongly predictive of overreporting and conventional understandings of social desirability fail to predict overreporting. Findings suggest that a conceptualization of self-reported voting as a measure of identity may provide a better explanation for why respondents overreport their voting in terms of extensive and intensive commitments to a political identity.

► An identity-based explanation of the overreporting of voting participation is tested.
► Extensive and intensive commitments to a political identity are used as predictors of overreporting.
► The propensity to overreport voting is predicted using vote verification data from five years of the American National Election Studies.
► Both forms of identity commitment are strongly predictive of overreporting amongst nonvoters.