2013/06/12 by André Blais, Eva Anduiza · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Competition (biology) #Democracy #Demographic economics #Economics #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Government (linguistics) #Law #Political economy #Political science #Politics #Presidential system #Public administration #Turnout #Voter turnout #Voting
paper · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0066
openalex publication_date 2013/06/12 · openalex created_date 2022/05/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Participating in elections is an essential component of democracy: citizens in democratic political systems are expected to be able to vote and to choose their representatives. Through their vote, either directly in presidential elections or indirectly in parliamentary elections, citizens also select among competing government alternatives. Turnout is thus a central topic in politics. Although turnout is the most widespread form of political participation, many people do not vote. Moreover, turnout varies substantially over time and across types of elections within a country as well as across countries. Who votes and under what conditions people are more likely to turn out are central questions in this literature. Explanations for turnout variation have focused both on individual characteristics (such as age, education, or political attitudes) and contextual features (such as the effect of compulsory voting, electoral systems, or party competition). Far less research has been devoted to the consequences of electoral turnout.