mainstream poli sci varies re. above, majority of literature probably express 'conventional theory' (which dates to early 50s when about 60% of folks ranged from leaning dem to strong dem, probably appears more often today as citations supporting the point of view that mass media generally presents as fact), some studies since mid-60s have found turnout to have contingent effect on vote share (so one has to look at contextual of particular electorate, consider state-by-state factors, etc.), a few studies have concluded that reps benefit from higher turnout (guy named denardo, for example, maintained that higher turnout elections included larger number of defections by dems)...
interestingly, region where conventional wisdom seems to have held up is south where studies show that higher turnouts have continued to produced greater dem vote totals...
fwiw: some mainstream poli sci people claim there is little difference in political attitudes of voters and non-voters, thus, they assert that markedly higher turnout would produce few differences in already existing outcomes... michael hoover -------------------------------------------------------------- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.