American Voting Behavior
in Presidential Elections, 1972 to 1992
Codebook


Table of Contents
Voting Behavior Political Involvement
Candidate Image Government Performance
Ideology Attitudes on Issues
Orientations Toward Government Demographic Characteristics

V01 YEAR OF SURVEY (0004)
Year in which the survey was conducted.

1 1972
2 1976
3 1980
4 1984
5 1988
6 1992

A. VOTING BEHAVIOR AND RELATED ITEMS

 V02 REGISTERED TO VOTE? (0737}
Were you registered to vote? (Not available for 1972 and 1976.)
I Yes
2 No
0 NA

V03 VOTED IN ELECTION (0702)
Did you vote in the presidential election?

I Voted
2 Did not vote
0 NA

V04 PRESIDENTIAL VOTE (0705)
Whom did you vote for in the presidential election?
(Responses are categorized by the party of the
candidate that the respondent voted for.)
1 Democrat
2 Republican
3 Other
0 NA

V05 TIME OF VOTE DECISION (0712)
How long before the election did you decide how you were going to vote?

1 All along
2 When candidate announced
3 During convention
4 Post-convention period
5 Last two weeks of campaign
6 Election day
0 NA

V06 SENATE VOTE (0708)
Whom did you vote for in the U.S. Senate election?
(Responses are categorized by the party of the candidate
that the respondent voted for.)
1 Democrat
2 Republican
0 NA

V07 HOUSE VOTE (0707)
Whom did you vote for in the House of Representatives
election? (Responses are categorized by the party of the
candidate that the respondent voted for.)

1 Democrat
2 Republican
0 NA

V08 HOUSE RACE TYPE (0902)
Classification of the type of race for the U.S. House
of Representatives in the respondent's district.
Districts were classified as to whether: (a) a Democratic
incumbent was running for reelection; (b) no incumbent
was running for reelection; or (c) a Republican incumbent
was running for reelection (Not available for 1972).
1 Democratic incumbent
2 No incumbent
3 Republican incumbent
0 NA

V09 PARTY IDENTIFICATION (0301)
Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Republican,
a Democrat, an independent, or what? If Democrat or Republican,
would you call yourself a strong or weak Democrat orRepublican?
If independent, are you closer to the Republican or the Democratic Party?

1 Strong Democrat
2 Weak Democrat
3 Independent Democrat
4 Independent
5 Independent Republican
6 Weak Republican
7 Strong Republican
0 NA


B. POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT ITEMS

 V10 INTEREST IN ELECTION (0310)
How interested have you been in the political campaigns this year?
1 Not much
2 Somewhat
3 Very much
0 NA

V11 l WATCH TV NEWS ABOUT CAMPAIGN? (0724)
Did you watch any programs about the campaign on television?
(Not available for 1988.)

1 No
2 Yes
0 NA

V12 READ NEWSPAPERS ABOUT CAMPAIGN? (0727)
Did you read about the campaign in any newspaper?
1 No
2 Yes
0 NA

V13 MEDIA EXPOSURE INDEX (0728)
What sources of media did you use to follow the campaign?
(Respondents were categorized according to the number of
the following sources used: newspaper, television, radio,
and magazines.) (Not available for 1988.)

I No media
2 One media source
3 Two media sources
4 Three media sources
5 All four media sources
0 NA

V14 ATTEND POLITICAL MEETINGS? (0718)
Did you go to any political meetings, rallies, dinners, or things
like that in support of a particular candidate?
1 No
2 Yes
0 NA

V15 WORK FOR PARTY OR CANDIDATE? (0719)
Did you do any work for one of the parties or candidates other than
attending meetings or rallies?

1 No
2 Yes
0 NA

V16 DONATE MONEY? (0721)
Did you give money to an individual candidate or to a political
party this election year?
I No
2 Yes
0 NA

C. CANDIDATE IMAGE ITEMS

 V17 DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE INSPIRING? (0353)
Does the phrase "inspiring" describe the Democratic presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all?
(Not available for 1972 and 1976.)
I Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V18 DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE KNOWLEDGEABLE? (0354)
Does the phrase "knowledgeable" describe the Democratic
presidential candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all?
(Not available for 1972 and 1976.)

1 Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V19 DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE MORAL? (0355)
Does the phrase "moral" describe the Democratic presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all?
(Not available for 1972 and 1976.)
1 Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V20 DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE STRONG LEADER? 0356)
Does the phrase "strong leader" describe the Democratic presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all?
(Not available for 1972 and 1976.)

1 Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V21 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE INSPIRING? (0365)
Does the phrase "inspiring" describe the Republican presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all?
(Not available for 1972 and 1976.)
I Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V22 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE KNOWLEDGEABLE? (0366)
Does the phrase "knowledgeable" describe the Republican presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all? (Not available for
1972 and 1976.)

I Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V23 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE MORAL? (0367)
Does the phrase "moral" describe the Republican presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all? (Not
available for 1972 and 1976.)
I Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V24 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE STRONG LEADER? (0368)
Does the phrase "strong leader" describe the Republican presidential
candidate extremely well, quite well, or not well at all? (Not available
for 1972 and 1976.)

I Extremely well
2 Quite well
3 Not well
0 NA

V25 DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE THERMOMETER SCORE (0424)
On a scale of 0 degrees to 100 degrees, how warm or cool do you feel
toward the Democratic presidential candidate? (Respondents are
categorized into the five groups listed below.)
1 0 - 20 degrees
2 21 - 40 degrees
3 41 - 60 degrees
4 61 - 80 degrees
5 81 -100 degrees
0 NA

V26 DEMOCRATIC VP CANDIDATE THERMOMETER SCORE (0425)
On a scale of 0 degrees to 100 degrees, how warm or cool do you feel
toward the Democratic vice presidential candidate? (Respondents are
categorized into the five groups listed below.)

1 0 - 20 degrees
2 21 - 40 degrees
3 41 - 60 degrees
4 61 - 80 degrees
5 81 -100 degrees
0 NA

V27 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE THERMOMETER SCORE (0426)
On a scale of 0 degrees to 100 degrees, how warm or cool do you feel
toward the Republican presidential candidate? (Respondents are
categorized into the five groups listed below.)
1 0 - 20 degrees
2 21 - 40 degrees
3 41 - 60 degrees
4 61 - 80 degrees
5 81 -100 degrees
0 NA

V28 REPUBLICAN VP CANDIDATE THERMOMETER SCORE (0427)
On a scale of 0 degrees to 100 degrees, how warm or cool do you feel
toward the Republican vice presidential candidate? (Respondents are
categorized into the five groups listed below.)

1 0 - 20 degrees
2 21 - 40 degrees
3 41 - 60 degrees
4 61 - 80 degrees
5 81-100 degrees
0 NA

D. GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE ITEMS

 V29 PRESIDENTIAL JOB APPROVAL (0450)
Do you approve or disapprove of the way that the President is handling his job?
I Approve
2 Disapprove
0 NA

V30 MOST IMPORTANT NATIONAL PROBLEM (0875)
What do you think is the single most important problem facing
this country? (Responses have been categorized into the five groups
listed below.)

I Economy
2 Foreign affairs
3 Social welfare
4 Crime, public order
5 Other
0 NA

V31 BEST PARTY FOR PROBLEM (9012)
Which political party do you think would be most likely to get
the government to do a better job in dealing with this problem--the
Republicans, the Democrats, or wouldn't there be much difference
between them?
I Democrats
2 No difference
3 Republicans
0 NA

V32 NATIONAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (0871)
Would you say that over the past year the nation's economy has gotten
better, stayed the same, or gotten worse? (Not available for 1972 and 1976.)

I Better
2 Same
3 Worse
0 NA

V33 PERSONAL FINANCIAL SITUATION (0880)
Would you say that you and your family are better off, the same,
or worse off financially than you were a year ago?
I Better
2 Same
3 Worse
0 NA

E. IDEOLOGICAL ITEMS

V34 IDEOLOGY (0803)
Respondent's self-placement on a scale running from "Liberal" to "Conservative."
I Liberal
2 Slightly liberal
3 Moderate
4 Slightly conservative
5 Conservative
0 NA

V35 DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: IDEOLOGY (9088)
Respondent's placement of the Democratic presidential candidate on a
scale running from "Liberal" to "Conservative."

I Liberal
2 Slightly liberal
3 Moderate
4 Slightly conservative
5 Conservative
0 NA

V36 REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE: IDEOLOGY (9096)
Respondent's placement of the Republican presidential candidate on
a scale running from "Liberal" to "Conservative."
I Liberal
2 Slightly liberal
3 Moderate
4 Slightly conservative
5 Conservative
0 NA

V37 DEMOCRATIC PARTY: IDEOLOGY (0503)
Respondent's placement of the Democratic Party on a scale running
from "Liberal" to "Conservative."

I Liberal
2 Slightly liberal
3 Moderate
4 Slightly conservative
5 Conservative
0 NA

V38 REPUBLICAN PARTY: IDEOLOGY (0504)
Respondent's placement of the Republican Party on a scale running
from "Liberal" to "Conservative."
I Liberal
2 Slightly liberal
3 Moderate
4 Slightly conservative
5 Conservative
0 NA

V39 PARTY IDEOLOGICAL DISTANCE (10556)
Perceived ideological difference between the Democratic and
Republican Parties, based on the respondent's placement of the
parties on the above ideological scales.

I No difference
2
3
4
5 Great difference
0 NA

V40 IMPORTANT PARTY DIFFERENCES (0501)
Do you think there are any important differences in what the Republicans
and Democrats stand for?
I No
2 Yes
0 NA

F. ATTITUDES ON SPECIFIC ISSUES

 V41 GUARANTEED JOB SCALE (0809)
Respondent's self-placement on a scale running from "Government
should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of
living" to "Government should let each person get ahead on their own."
I Guaranteed job
2
3
4
5 Individual on own
0 NA

V42 HEALTH PLAN SCALE (0806)
Respondent's self-placement on a scale running from "There should
be a government insurance plan which would cover all medical and
hospital expenses for everyone" to "All medical expenses should be
paid by individuals or private insurance plans." (Not available for 1980.)

I Government plan
2
3
4
5 Private plan
0 NA

V43 MINORITY AID SCALE (0830)
Respondent's self-placement on a scale running from "Government
should make every effort to improve the social and economic position
of blacks" to "Government should not make any special effort to help
blacks because they should help themselves."
I Help minorities
2
3
4
5 Minorities on own
0 NA

V44 CIVIL RIGHTS CHANGE (0814)
Do you think the civil rights leaders are trying to push too fast,
too slowly, or are they moving at about the right speed?

I Too slowly
2 About right
3 Too fast
0 NA

V45 ABORTION (0837, 0838)
Respondent's agreement with one of the following statements:
(1) By law, abortion should never be permitted; (2) The law should
permit abortion only in case of rape, incest, or when the woman's
life is in danger; (3) The law should permit abortion for reasons other
than rape, incest, or danger to woman's life, but only after the need for
the abortion has been clearly established; (4) By law, the woman should
always be able to obtain an abortion as a matter of personal choice. (Note:
The question wording for the second and third categories was slightly
different in 1972 and 1976.)
I Never permit
2 For rape, etc.
3 If need established
4 Always permit
0 NA

V46 ROLE OF WOMEN SCALE (0834)
Respondent's self-placement on a scale running from "Women should
have an equal role with men in running business, industry and government"
to "Women's place is in the home."
I Equal role
2
3
4
5 In the home
0 NA

V47 DEFENSE SPENDING (0843)
Respondent's self-placement on a scale running from "We
should spend much less on defense" to "We should greatly
increase defense spending. (Not available for 1972 and 1976.)

I Greatly decrease
2
3
4
5 Greatly increase
0 NA

V48 U.S. WORLD INVOLVEMENT (0823)
Do you agree or disagree with this statement, "This country would
be better off if we just stayed home and did not concern ourselves
with problems in other parts of the world?"
1 Agree
2 Disagree
0 NA

V49 BEST PARTY TO AVOID WAR (0522)
Do you think the problem of keeping out war would be handled better
in the next four years by the Republicans, by the Democrats, or about the
same by both? (Not available for 1976.)

1 Democrats
2 No difference
3 Republicans
0 NA


G. GENERAL ORIENTATIONS TOWARD GOVERNMENT

 V50 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STRENGTH (0829)
Do you think the government in Washington is getting too strong or not
strong enough for the good of the country and the individual person?
1 Not too strong
2 Too strong
0 NA

V51 TRUST IN GOVERNMENT (0604)
How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in
Washington to do what is right?

I Some of the time
2 Most of the time
0 NA

V52 GOVERNMENT RUN FOR ALL (0605)
Would you say the government is pretty much run by a few big interests
looking out for themselves or that it is run for the benefit of all the people?
1 Few big interests
2 Benefit of all
0 NA

V53 OFFICIALS DO NOT CARE (0609)
Do you agree or disagree with the statement, "I don't think public
officials care much what people like me think?"

I Agree
2 Neutral
3 Disagree
0 NA

V54 GOVERNMENT TAX WASTE (0606)
Do you think that people in the government waste a lot of money we pay
in taxes or waste just some or very little of it?
1 A lot
2 Some or little
0 NA

V55 PEOPLE HAVE NO SAY (0613)
Do you agree or disagree with the statement, "People like me don't have
any say about what the government does?"

1 Agree
2 Neutral
3 Disagree
0 NA

V56 POLITICS TOO COMPLICATED (0614)
Do you agree or disagree with the statement, "Sometimes politics and
government seem so complicated that a person like me can't really
understand what is going on?"
I Agree
2 Neutral
3 Disagree
0 NA

V57 GOVERNMENT PAYS ATTENTION (0622)
How much attention do you feel the government pays to what the people
think when it decides what to do -not much, some, or a good deal?

1 Not much
2 Some
3 A good deal
0 NA

H. SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

 V58 GENDER (0104)
Respondent's gender.
1 Male
2 Female
0 NA

V59 RACE (0106)
Respondent's race.

1 White
2 Black
3 Other
0 NA

V60 AGE (0102)
Respondent's age.
1 17-24
2 25-34
3 35-44
4 45-54
5 55-64
6 65-99
0 NA

V61 1 MARITAL STATUS (0147)
Respondent's marital status.

I Married
2 Single
3 Divorced/separated
4 Widowed
0 NA

V62 EDUCATION (0140)
What is the highest grade of school you have completed?
1 Not a high school graduate
2 High school graduate only
3 Some college
4 College graduate
0 NA

V63 EMPLOYMENT STATUS (0116)
Are you employed, looking for work, retired, or what?

1 Employed
2 Unemployed
3 Retired/disabled
4 Homemaker
5 Student
0 NA

V64 OCCUPATION (0157)
What is you primary occupation? (Responses have been categorized into
the four occupational groups listed below.)
1 Professional/managerial
2 Clerical/sales
3 Manual work
4 Farm
0 NA

V65 INCOME (0114)
What was the total income of your family last year? (Responses have
been categorized into percentile groups. For example, someone in the
fifth category had a family income that was in the top five percent of all
family incomes in the country for that year.)

1 0-16 percentile
2 17-33 percentile
3 34-67 percentile
4 68-95 percentile
5 96-100 percentile
0 NA

V66 SOCIAL CLASS (0148)
What would you call yourself: middle class or working class?
I Working class
2 Middle class
0 NA

V67 RELIGION (0129, 0152)
What is your religious denomination? (Note: "Catholic" includes Eastern
Orthodox churches; "Other Christian" includes Mormons, Quakers and
Unitarians and others; "Other non-Christian" includes Muslims, Buddhists,
and others.)

I Protestant
2 Catholic
3 Other Christian
4 Jewish
5 Other non Christian
6 None
0 NA

V68 CHURCH ATTENDANCE (0130)
How often do you go to religious services?
I Every week
2 Almost every week
3 1-2 times a month
4 Few times a year
5 Never
0 NA

V69 REGION (0112)
Region of the country that the respondent lives in.

1 Northeast
2 North central
3 South
4 West

V70 URBANISM (0111)
Type of community that the respondent lives in.
I Central city
2 Suburban area
3 Rural, small town

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