Date of Award

5-27-2026

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Public Policy

First Advisor

Amy E. Smith

Second Advisor

Heather MacIndoe

Third Advisor

Brendan F. Burke

Abstract

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Town Meeting is a unique system of democratic governance that can be found only in New England towns, where it has been the primary form of local government for nearly four centuries. Town Meeting is a type of direct democracy where laws, policy, and decisions are made by a plurality of a town’s eligible voters acting as its legislative body. There is limited scholarship addressing Town Meeting, with much of the extant literature focusing on the benefits of the direct democracy aspect of this form of government. Town Meeting has been generally known to be poorly attended by citizens. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to document attendance at Massachusetts Town Meeting, understand the value that participants assign to this form of government, and understand the reasons they attend. The quantitative phase of the study collected and analyzed novel panel data on attendance from 259 of the 260 towns in Massachusetts having an Open Town Meeting form of government to understand attendance levels and trends over time, and warrant data, to ascertain whether certain agenda topics generate greater attendance. The qualitative phase of the study entailed interviews with voters and public officials from five Massachusetts towns to gain an understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with Town Meeting. The findings of the study show that, on average, from 2000 to 2024, only 4.31% of registered voters attend Town Meeting; several agenda topics account for the highest attended meetings across all towns; and citizens’ decisions regarding attendance follow a model based on Rational Choice Theory (Downs, 1957). The policy implications of this study will inform communities about how they might attract additional interest in and attendance at Town Meeting, and what the future may hold for this form of government in the 21st century.

Comments

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