Turnout In European Elections Research Articles

Political equality without social equality? Social distortion of voter turnout in the European elections 2019 across nine European capitals

Although we know a lot about why citizens vote or abstain in elections, the social inequality of low turnout in European elections has attracted little attention. This paper focuses on voter turnout in the last 2019 European elections and examines whether low voter turnout in second-order elections is automatically associated with high social inequality, using Tingsten’s law as inspiration. By contrasting a second-order election with other high and low turnout elections, the paper deepens our understanding of the mechanisms behind low turnout in European elections. Following the argument that the macrolevel social imbalances of low turnout can best be analysed at the neighbourhood level, we develop a small-scale analysis of turnout across nine capitals of the European Union for the 2019 European Parliament (election and perform a regression model with interaction effects to examine the effects between different types of elections. Our results do not find differences in the effect of neighbourhoods’ social context on voter turnout between these elections. Although turnout in all cities is socially biased across all types of elections, jeopardising the ideal of political equality across Europe, we find no evidence that the 2019 European Parliament elections were more socially unequal than other elections – regardless of their second-order nature.

Why Do Citizens Not Turn Out? The Effect of Election-Specific Knowledge on Turnout in European Elections in Eastern Europe

Throughout the European Parliament’s nearly forty years of existence, electoral turnout in European parliamentary elections has consistently been lower than electoral turnout in the national elections of the member states. This is particularly the case for the majority of states in Eastern Europe where turnout in European elections has resulted in low electoral participation of eligible voters. Focusing on the 2014 election to the European Parliament, we highlight that low election-specific knowledge contributes to these low participation rates. In more detail, we rely on name recognition of the main candidates of the three main party groups, and show that knowledge of these candidates is more than twice as high in Western Europe as in Eastern Europe. Second, we illustrate that these low knowledge levels in the East also help explain the larger turnout gap between national and European elections in the East.

Explaining Low Turnout in European Elections: The Role of Issue Salience and Institutional Perceptions in Elections to the European Parliament

Elections to the European Parliament have been unable to capture the public’s interest— turnout remains far lower than most national elections and many who do vote appear more concerned with sending messages of approval to national political parties than electing representatives at the EU level. This paper seeks to explain why the public does not take these elections seriously. A common explanation is that the public simply does not care about EU politics. In addition to this ‘issue-based’ argument, this article considers where a lack of trust in the European Parliament itself may lead many individuals to abstain from EP elections. Using pre and post-election survey data, results suggest that perceptions of the EP indeed have a significant effect on the decision to vote in EP elections.

Tourismus und EU-Wahlen. Effekte des Reisens auf die Identitätsbildung und die Wahlbeteiligung

Zusammenfassung In diesem Beitrag wird die Frage aufgeworfen, ob der Tourismus einen Effekt auf die europäische Identitätsentwicklung ausübt und ob dieser in der Wahlforschung weitgehend unberücksichtigte Faktor auch direkt oder indirekt die Wahlbeteiligung bei Europawahlen beeinflussen könnte. Ein theoretisches Modell postuliert den Einfluss von drei zentralen touristischen Indikatoren (Nächtigungsintensität, Reiseintensität und Auslandsreisen in die EU27) auf kosmopolitische Einstellungen und die Identifikation der BürgerInnen mit Europa (intermediäre Ebene) sowie auf die Wahlbeteiligung bei Europawahlen (abhängige Variable). Das theoretische Modell wird auf Basis von einzelnen nationalen und regionalen Indikatoren (NUTS II Ebene) aus vier verschiedenen Datenquellen operationalisiert. Die Einflüsse des Reiseverhaltens und der Tourismusintensität werden auf der nationalen Ebene mittels Korrelationen und auf der regionalen Ebene mittels Strukturgleichungsmodellen geprüft. Eine sequentielle multiple Regressionsanalyse konnte zusätzlich herausstreichen, dass die direkten Effekte des Tourismus auf die Wahlbeteiligung überwiegend auf Besonderheiten und spezifische Einflüsse in Ost-, Süd- und Westeuropa zurückzuführen sind. Die Studie kann als erster Ansatz betrachtet werden, die Zusammenhänge zwischen Tourismus, europäischer Identität und der Wahlbeteiligung zu eruieren. Künftige ländervergleichende Erhebungen auf der individuellen Ebene wären notwendig, um die gefundenen Erkenntnisse abzusichern und regionale Besonderheiten differenzierter zu beleuchten.

Analysing Turnout in European Elections: National Differences, The Peculiarity of the EU's System and the Abstention of Young People

Since 1979 figures have shown an irregular yet overall decline in turnout in the European elections. In her article, Sara Pini analyses this phenomenon from the perspective both of the European Union and the various Member States individually. The author examines different factors which are believed to play a role in influencing citizens to vote or abstain. The level of information provided through communication and publicity by the national media make up crucial elements when it comes to mobilising the population, especially when it comes to young Europeans.