From 2012: Andrew Gelman wonders if India is really unique in poor-voter turnout
Andrew Gelman, writing on Good Authority back in 2012, comes across Perry Anderson’s claim that India is unique in one specific way: the poor vote at higher rates than the better-off. Everywhere else, Anderson writes, the ratio is reversed.
Gelman doesn’t know if it’s true. He posts the question, runs it past Josh Tucker, gets pointed to some comparative politics references. The whole thing has the shape of a blog post that’s really a research noodle — “I’m sure my comparativist colleagues understand this better.”
I have no idea if the claim held up either. That’s partly why I like this post. It’s a moment of honest uncertainty from someone who could have pretended to have the answer. And it’s a reminder that the “poor vote less” truism isn’t universal — or at least, someone credible thought it might not be.