Voter turnout

Voter turnout is a measure of the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in any given election. Almost all political scientists feel that high turnout is desirable in a democracy, but there is much debate over the factors that affect turnout. Different countries have very different average voter turnouts, with the United States, for instance, having a turnout more than 30 percetnage points below that of Germany. These differences are believed to be caused by a mix of cultural and institutional factors.

Related Topics:
Ballot - Election - United States - Germany - Cultural - Institution

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After increasing for many decades, the last forty years has seen a global trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies. This issue has been much studied, but scholars are divided on the issue, with a wide array of economic, demographic, cultural, technological, and institutional factors proposed as the cause of this decline. There have also been many efforts to increase turnout and encourage voting.

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