Forthcoming, The Journal of Politics

and suggestions. In this paper we construct a spatial model that specifies voter utility in terms of the responsiveness of public policy and provide an explanation for the seeming paradox that voters who vote for the incumbent also unilaterally self-impose term limits. Our model suggests that term limits or the threat of it will increase the responsiveness of politicians’ policy platforms. Furthermore, when the position of the incumbent is closer to the median voter position, it is less likely that voters will support term limits; but if the incumbent’s party is more moderate, it is more likely that voters will support term limits