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Voter Turnout Decline and Party Responsiveness
[journal article]
Abstract Numerous studies conclude that declining turnout is harmful for democracy. However, we uncover the arguably positive effect that political parties become more responsive to the median voter in the election after turnout has decreased. We assume that parties are vote seeking and show that moderate vo... view more
Numerous studies conclude that declining turnout is harmful for democracy. However, we uncover the arguably positive effect that political parties become more responsive to the median voter in the election after turnout has decreased. We assume that parties are vote seeking and show that moderate voters are responsible for changes in turnout, and we argue that declining turnout in an election sends a clear signal to political parties that there is an opportunity to mobilize disaffected voters in the following election by responding to changes in public opinion. We report the results of statistical analyses on data from thirteen democracies from 1977 to 2018 that provide evidence that declining voter turnout in one inter-election period is associated with increasing party responsiveness to public opinion in the following period. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of voter turnout, political representation, and parties' election strategies.... view less
Keywords
Eurobarometer; voter turnout; party; election; representation; party politics; democracy
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
political representation; party responsiveness; Eurobarometer 1977-2018; CSES - Comparative Study of Electoral Systems
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 85-103
Journal
British Journal of Political Science, 53 (2023) 1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123421000673
ISSN
1469-2112
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed