Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945 [Hardcover]

This book shows how voter turnout is an indicator of the health of a democracy.This book shows how voter turnout can serve as an indicator of the health of a democracy. It enumerates conditions that can result in low voter turnout and suggests reforms that might alleviate these conditions. Its innovative finding is that declining turnout does not reflect reductions in civic virtue or increases in alienation. Turnout falls, when it does, because of cumulating effects of institutional changes, because elections lack competitiveness, or because a larger proportion of the electorate pays attention to this lack of competitiveness.This book shows how voter turnout can serve as an indicator of the health of a democracy. It enumerates conditions that can result in low voter turnout and suggests reforms that might alleviate these conditions. Its innovative finding is that declining turnout does not reflect reductions in civic virtue or increases in alienation. Turnout falls, when it does, because of cumulating effects of institutional changes, because elections lack competitiveness, or because a larger proportion of the electorate pays attention to this lack of competitiveness.Demonstrating how voter turnout can serve as an indicator of the health of a democracy, this study documents the conditions that can result in low voter turnout and suggests reforms that might alleviate these conditions. Mark Franklin concludes that declining turnout does not necessarily reflect reductions in civic virtue or increases in alienation. Franklin claims that turnout falls due to cumulating effects of institutional changes, a lack of competition in elections and a decision by a large proportion of the electorate not to participate as a response to the lack of competition.Figures; Tables; Preface; The authors; Introduction; 1. Confronting the puzzles of voter turnout; 2. A new approach to the calculus of voting; 3. The role of generational replacement in turnout change; 4. Rational responses lÏ