This is different from satisfaction levels with the government, because if voters do not blame politicians for their problems — even if they are generally dissatisfied — there may be no relationship between voter turnout and anger. If citizens become too dissatisfied, they may develop a sense that voting will not affect their perceived problems.
An example of this dynamic occurred after the economic crisis, when many countries experienced a decrease in voter turnout. Canada may have been impacted by this factor in , when the country experienced a historically low voter turnout rate of This cannot be established conclusively because other factors, such as voter fatigue from the and elections or general apathy toward the candidates, might also have affected the turnout.
After the current federal election, Canada will have new data to help better understand how voter turnout is impacted during times of crisis. For policy-makers and implementers looking at future voter turnout levels, understanding the effects that influenced the turnout in this election will be crucial for next time there is a country-wide or global crisis.
While no country was immune to the COVID pandemic, all democratic states remain susceptible to changes in voter turnout during crises that might affect the health of their democratic participation. This article is part of the How can we improve the elections process special feature. You are welcome to republish this Policy Options article online and in print periodicals.
We ask that you follow these guidelines. Please attribute the author s and mention that the article was originally published by Policy Options magazine. Editing the piece is not permitted, but you may publish excerpts. Originally published on Policy Options September 14, Republish this article. A Montreal protest on Aug. Policy-making Politics. One factor behind the consistently high turnout rates in Australia and Belgium may be that they are among the 21 nations around the world , including six in the OECD, with some form of compulsory voting.
One canton in Switzerland has compulsory voting as well. In Chile, for example, turnout plunged after the country moved from compulsory to voluntary voting in and began automatically putting all eligible citizens on the voter rolls.
In the U. And registered voters represent a much smaller share of potential voters in the U. The U. As a consequence, turnout comparisons based only on registered voters may not be very meaningful. For instance, U. But registered voters in the U. There are even more ways to calculate turnout. Using those calculations, U. Since , voting-age turnout has remained within an 8.
However, turnout varies considerably among different racial, ethnic and age groups. In several other OECD countries, turnout has drifted lower in recent decades.
On the other hand, turnout in recent elections has bumped up in several OECD countries. In times of uncertainty, good decisions demand good data. Please support our research with a financial contribution. Some studies show that a single vote in a voting scheme such as the Electoral College in the United States has an even lower chance of determining the outcome. The Electoral College is an example of an indirect election, consisting of electors who officially elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
The number of electors is equal to the total voting membership of the United States Congress, Representatives and Senators, plus three electors from the District of Columbia. Other studies claim that the Electoral College actually increases voting power. Senator Barack Obama D-IL won the popular vote in 28 states and the District of Columbia denoted in blue to capture electoral votes.
High voter turnout is desirable, though the issue is still debated among political scientists and economists specializing in public choice. A high turnout is generally seen as evidence of the legitimacy of the current system. Dictators have often fabricated high turnouts in showcase elections for this purpose.
Opposition parties sometimes boycott votes they feel are unfair or illegitimate, or if the election is for a government that is considered illegitimate. For example, the Holy See instructed Italian Catholics to boycott national elections for several decades after the creation of the State of Italy.
In some countries, there are threats of violence against those who vote, such as during the Iraq elections. However, some political scientists question the view that high turnout is an implicit endorsement of the system.
Mark N. Franklin contends that in European Union elections opponents of the federation, and of its legitimacy, are just as likely to vote as proponents. Assuming that low turnout is a reflection of disenchantment or indifference, a poll with very low turnout may not be an accurate reflection of the will of the people. On the other hand, if low turnout is a reflection of contentment of voters about likely winners or parties, then low turnout is as legitimate as high turnout, as long as the right to vote exists.
Still, low turnouts can lead to unequal representation among various parts of the population. The decline in voting has also accompanied a general decline in civic participation, such as church attendance, membership in professional, fraternal, and student societies, youth groups, and parent-teacher associations.
At the same time, some forms of participation have increased. People have become far more likely to participate in boycotts, demonstrations, and to donate to political campaigns. Federal law restricts how much individuals and organizations may contribute to political campaigns, political parties, and other FEC-regulated organizations.
Corporations and unions are barred from donating money directly to candidates or national party committees. Lobbyists often assist congresspersons with campaign finance by arranging fundraisers, assembling PACs, and seeking donations from other clients. Many lobbyists become campaign treasurers and fundraisers for congresspersons. Many causes have been proposed for the decline in voting, including demographics, voter fatigue and voter suppression, among other things.
High voter turnout is often considered to be desirable, though among political scientists and economists specialising in public choice, the issue is still debated. In developed countries, non-voters tend to be concentrated in particular demographic and socioeconomic groups, especially the young and the poor. Many causes have been proposed for this decline; a combination of factors is most likely.
When asked why they do not vote, many people report that they have too little free time. However, over the last several decades, studies have consistently shown that the amount of leisure time has not decreased.
Wealth and literacy have some effect on turnout, but are not reliable measures. For example, the United Nations Human Development Index shows some correlation between higher standards of living and higher turnout. The age of a democracy is also an important factor. Elections require considerable involvement by the population, and it takes some time to develop the cultural habit of voting, and the associated understanding of and confidence in the electoral process.
Demographics also have an effect. Older people tend to vote more than youths, so societies where the average age is somewhat higher, such as Europe; have higher turnouts than somewhat younger countries such as the United States.
Institutional factors have a significant impact on voter turnout. Rules and laws are also generally easier to change than attitudes, so much of the work done on how to improve voter turnout looks at these factors. Making voting compulsory has a direct and dramatic effect on turnout.
Simply making it easier for candidates to stand through easier nomination rules is believed to increase voting. Ease of voting is a factor in rates of turnout. In the United States and most Latin American nations, voters must go through separate voter registration procedures before they are allowed to vote. This two-step process quite clearly decreases turnout.
In politics, voter fatigue is the apathy that the electorate can experience under certain circumstances, one of which could be in exceptional circumstances that they are required to vote too often.
Voter fatigue and voter apathy should be distinguished from what arises when voters are not allowed or unable to vote, or when disenfranchisement occurs. Similarly, voter suppression is a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from exercising their right to vote.
It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the opinions of potential voters through persuasion and organization. Voter Supression : Voters at voting booths in the United States in Voter suppression instead attempts to reduce the number of voters who might vote against the candidate or proposition advocated by the suppressors. This suppression can be in the form of unfair tests or requirements to vote.
For example, in the southern United States before and during the civil rights movement, white southerners used many methods to prevent minorities from voting. These included literacy tests, a poll tax, and if all else failed intimidation by threats of violence. The Civil Rights Act of put a stop to literacy tests and any other methods of preventing people from voting.
Excluding convicted from voting and re-including them only on case-by-case decisions by State Governors, as is the case in numerous U.
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