Abstract
th , 2012; revised December 11 th , 2012; accepted December 22 nd , 2012 Over the past twenty years, the scientific community and politicians in consolidated democracies have been regularly alarmed by political and electoral participation, portrayed as undergoing a brutal and linear decline. Each election is now scrutinized in terms not only of its results but also of its level of electoral turnout. This paper deals with two important issues—the reality of changes in electoral turnout in Europe and the impact of the institutional constraint of compulsory voting in voter turnout levels—through an analysis of 402 elections held in thirty-five States from 1944 until December, the 31st 2009. We do observe a contemporary erosion of voter turnout but at this stage voters are not so impossible to find as some claim they are. Furthermore, the assumption that interest in, and the importance of, compulsory voting as an institutional constraint encouraging voter turnout is confirmed.
Highlights
Over the past twenty years, the scientific community and politicians in consolidated democracies have been regularly alarmed by political and electoral participation, portrayed as undergoing a brutal and linear decline
We propose to return to two important issues: changes in electoral turnout and the impact of the institutional constraint of compulsory voting in voter turnout levels
A survey conducted at European level reported that up to 15% of voters in States where the vote was not compulsory explained their abstention as follows: the reason why they did not vote at the European elections had to do with problems regarding voter registration or notice to come and vote (Blondel, Sinnott, & Svensson, 1997)
Summary
Received November 9th, 2012; revised December 11th, 2012; accepted December 22nd, 2012. Over the past twenty years, the scientific community and politicians in consolidated democracies have been regularly alarmed by political and electoral participation, portrayed as undergoing a brutal and linear decline. Each election is scrutinized in terms of its results and of its level of electoral turnout. This paper deals with two important issues—the reality of changes in electoral turnout in Europe and the impact of the institutional constraint of compulsory voting in voter turnout levels—through an analysis of 402 elections held in thirty-five States from 1944 until December, the 31st 2009. The assumption that interest in, and the importance of, compulsory voting as an institutional constraint encouraging voter turnout is confirmed
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