Political trust, civic duty and voter turnout: The Mediation argument

This study investigates whether civic duty mediates the effect of political trust on voter turnout. Specifically, this study outlines the relationship between political trust, civic duty and voter turnout by incorporating political trust into the rational choice model of turnout. Empirical evidence from Taiwan, the United States and the United Kingdom supports the mediation argument. This study consistently finds that political trust exerts a significant mediation effect on voter turnout through civic duty. Besides, this study also confirms a weak or no direct relationship between political trust and voter turnout. The findings imply that past studies have misestimated the impact of political trust on voter turnout and it is wrong if we simply assume a direct relationship between political trust and voter turnout, and do not think about other mechanisms between them. Therefore, we should treat the relationship between political trust and voter turnout more seriously and cautiously.