Off to the Polls and Then Down the Ballot: Are Union Members Less Likely to Roll-Off?

Unions are successful at mobilizing voter turnout, but does this success translate to voting down-ballot? Raising this question brings together two disparate strains of research on ballot-roll off and union voter mobilization. Using data from the Cooperative Election Study (2012, 2016, and 2020), we find that union voters are more likely to vote in down ballot U.S. House, Senate, and gubernatorial elections. Though members of union households are less likely to vote down-ballot than nonunion voters. We consider the implications of these findings for research on union mobilization and ballot roll-off.