Explaining voter turnout in local elections: a global comparative perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT The determinants of voter turnout in local elections are examined using global cross-national time-series comparative evidence from 97 countries. Despite the vast research agenda on turnout, only a few comparative tests at the local level are available. Filling this lacuna, the article explores how seven institutional features are related to local turnout. It analyses both the effects of rules applicable exclusively to local politics (size of municipalities, local authority power, directly elected mayors), and of institutions previously theorised to affect turnout in national elections. Compulsory voting and the concurrence with first-order elections not only powerfully shape turnout in local elections but also help close the turnout deficit relative to national elections. The autonomy of local elected authorities also drives turnout, but we lack evidence for the effects on turnout of electing mayors directly, weekend voting, concurrence with second-order elections and the size of municipalities.