Who votes and why?

In the 7^th edition of The Politics of Congressional Elections, by Gary C. Jacobson, the issue of congressional voters is discussed. This chapter primarily focuses on why some people vote in elections and why others don’t. It than shifts to why people vote the way they do; what candidates do or what social norms causes them to sway one way or the other.

Jacobson thinks that voter turnout correlates to wealth and education. In New Jersey the average income is estimated at around $50,000, while the national income is estimated at a lower average of $46,323. Despite the fact that the 4^th district is comprised of some of the wealthiest counties in New Jersey, congressional election voter turnout has been traditionally low.

This would without a doubt be attributed to the fact that for the last several years, the congressional election between Smith and whoever his opponent is during the time, has been highly uncompetitive. Because Smith usually wins by the overwhelming majority, voters believe that their vote will not make a difference one way or another.

Jacobson would say that Smith wins by such a majority because he is the incumbent. In this chapter he says that the incumbent is more likely to be favored mainly because of name recognition. 

Besides the fact the Smith is an incumbent, his opponent Howard Kleinhendler, has a lot of demographical obstacles standing in his way. For one, Fort Dix, Lakehurst Naval Base, and McGuire Air Station are all located within the 4^th district. Although not always the case, military members, and family members and friends of military tend to be more conservative and lean towards Republican views.

This could prove to be a main reason why a Republican has been in office for the past 30 years.

All of these things, income, location and name recognition, play a large roll in who gets elected.