The conditional duty to vote in elections

This article presents an alternate dimension of the civic duty to vote. Despite its explanatory power, the civic duty to vote has been operationalized one-dimensionally, as the importance associated with the act of voting per se. Few scholars have revisited the survey measurement of civic duty despite important changes in values, attitudes, and citizenship norms. The article investigates an alternate dimension of duty and evaluates its utility using a national sample of Canadians. Results find support for a dimension termed conditional duty, which represents a belief in 'contingent participation'.