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Engineering Democracy: Electoral Rules and Turnout Inequality
Abstract The issue of unequal electoral turnout poses serious concerns for both the overall health of democratic politics, and the extent to which certain groups exert an unequal influence on the political process. This article explores the relationship between electoral rules such as: compulsory voting, ele... view more
The issue of unequal electoral turnout poses serious concerns for both the overall health of democratic politics, and the extent to which certain groups exert an unequal influence on the political process. This article explores the relationship between electoral rules such as: compulsory voting, electoral system proportionality, and voter registration with voter inequality in terms of age, income and education. This is examined using cross-national survey data and cross-level interactions between electoral institutions and socio-demographic variables. The final dataset is based on waves 2-4 of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, and contains information on 133,000 individuals, within 45 countries, between 2001 and 2016. The results indicate that compulsory voting is associated with a significant reduction in turnout inequalities, while the effects of proportionality and voter registration are somewhat more mixed.... view less
Keywords
voter turnout; voter; inequality; electoral system; proportionality; democracy
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
compulsory voting; voter registration; Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES)
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 1-23
Journal
Political Studies (2022) OnlineFirst
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217221096563
ISSN
1467-9248
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed