The effects of immigrant generational status on the likelihood of misreporting turnout

Abstract

ObjectiveThis article explores the effects of immigrant generational status on the likelihood of misreporting turnout. I contend that varied levels of immigrant status affect individuals’ misreporting turnout in different ways due to social desirability and assimilation level concerns.MethodsUsing data from 2016 and 2020 Cooperative Election Study data sets, which include questions on respondents’ immigrant status and voting behavior variables, this study analyzes the effect of varied levels of immigrant status on misreporting turnout.ResultsThe analysis shows that there is a decreased likelihood of misreporting turnout as individuals move farther away from their immigrant generation in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. In other words, first‐generation immigrants are most likely to misreport turnout. Second‐ and third‐generation immigrants are less likely to misreport turnout than the first generations but are still significantly more likely to misreport their turnout than those who are not immigrants or who do not have immigrant parents or grandparents.ConclusionThe findings generally support the expectation. The levels of immigrant status affect individuals’ misreporting turnout in different ways.