DOI: 10.3886/icpsr25643
title: Current Population Survey, November 2008: Voting and Registration Supplement
title: Archival Version

description: This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey on the topic of voting and registration in the United States, which was administered as a supplement to the November 2008 CPS questionnaire. The Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division of the Census Bureau sponsored the supplemental questions for November.The CPS, administered monthly, is a labor force survey providing current estimates of the economic status and activities of the population of the United States. Specifically, the CPS provides estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. Data from the CPS are provided for the week prior to the survey.The voting and registration supplement data are collected every two years to monitor trends in the voting and nonvoting behavior of United States citizens in terms of their different demographic and economic characteristics. The supplement was designed to be a proxy response supplement, meaning a single respondent could provide answers for all eligible household members. The supplement questions were asked of all persons who were both United States citizens and 18 years of age or older. The CPS instrument determined who was eligible for the voting and registration supplement through the use of check items that referred to basic CPS items, including age and citizenship.Respondents were queried on whether they were registered to vote in the November 4, 2008 election, main reasons for not being registered to vote, main reasons for not voting, whether they voted in person or by mail, and method used to register to vote. Demographic variables include age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, veteran status, educational attainment, occupation, and income.
description: There is no supplement weight associated with the November 2008 supplement. Use the basic CPS weight, PWSSWGT, for tallying the supplement items. Please refer to the User Guide for additional information concerning the creation and use of this and other weight variables.
description: A multistage probability sample based on results of the decennial Census was used for the housing unit.
description: Datasets: DS1: Current Population Survey, November 2008: Voting and Registration Supplement
description: All persons in the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States living in households.
description: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI); computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)Users are strongly encouraged to refer to the User Guide (produced by the Principal Investigators), which contains the questionnaire for the supplement, as well as additional detailed technical documentation regarding the study design, sampling frame used, and response rates.The universe statements for each variable are defined in either the basic or supplement record layout, which is located in Attachment 6 and 7, respectively, of the User Guide.ICPSR removed all FILLER and PADDING variables from the data. As a result, the column locations in any ICPSR-released data product (e.g., codebook and setup files) will have column locations that are not consistent with locations described in the User Guide.