Correlates of district-level turnout in Vienna: What role does electoral exclusion play?

Abstract

With an increasing share of voting-age residents without Austrian citizenship, Vienna is a striking example of a boundary problem of electoral participation. Without Austrian citizenship comes an exclusion from electoral rights at national, regional and, for some, also at European elections. The paper examines turnout rates and their socio-demographic covariates for 11 elections on the aggregate level of districts in Vienna, Austria, from 2004 to 2019. The analysis shows that aggregate turnout is statistically associated with socio-economic district characteristics, diversity within the electorate and the proportion of individuals not eligible to vote. To conclude, the paper discusses possible mechanisms behind the correlation of electoral exclusion and turnout and provides perspectives for further empirical tests of such mechanisms.