Election Frequency and Voter Turnout

被引:4
|
作者
Kostelka, Filip [1 ,2 ]
Krejcova, Eva [3 ]
Sauger, Nicolas [4 ]
Wuttke, Alexander [5 ]
机构
[1] European Univ Inst, Dept Polit & Social Sci, Via Roccettini 9, Fiesole, FI, Italy
[2] Univ Essex, Dept Govt, Colchester, England
[3] Univ Cambridge, Dept Polit & Int Studies, Cambridge, England
[4] Sci Po, Paris, France
[5] Ludwig Maximilian Univ Munich, Digitalizat & Polit Behav, Munich, Germany
关键词
voter turnout; election frequency; political participation; elections; public opinion and voting behavior; European politics; representation and electoral systems; institutional reform; DIRECT DEMOCRACY; PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY; BALLOT INITIATIVES; DECLINE; MOBILIZATION; CALENDARS; CITIZENS; FATIGUE; STATES; COSTS;
D O I
10.1177/00104140231169020
中图分类号
D0 [政治学、政治理论];
学科分类号
0302 ; 030201 ;
摘要
In recent decades, liberal democracies have considerably expanded the scope for citizen participation, calling their citizens to vote in a growing number of popular votes. This research investigates the effects of the rising election frequency on electoral participation. It expands on the voting calculus and theorizes which, when, and how past votes affect current voter turnout. We argue that all election types contribute to a common factor of election frequency, whose high values depress turnout and reduce the effectiveness of party mobilization even in the most important elections. We find support for the new theory using an original database of all significant elections and referendums held in 22 European democracies between 1939 and 2019, two natural experiments, and survey data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. Our findings shed light on contemporary participation trends and have major implications for democratic citizenship and democratic institutional engineering.
引用
收藏
页码:2231 / 2268
页数:38
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