Calculating voter turnout in US House primary elections

Using original data, this research note computes improved turnout statistic s for closed primary elections to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 and 1994. These data are compared to earlier estimates of primary turnout that used a substitute measure. We find that the previous measure overestim ated turnout in both election cycles, particularly in Democratic primaries. As a result, studies of House primary election turnout need to be reexamin ed in light of these findings. Future research ought to rely on the new mea sure used here to more accurately assess the influences on turnout in state s with party registration. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.