Rising start-up costs of voting: political inequality among first-time voters

Research on voting behaviour stresses that whether citizens become habitual voters depends on the very first elections in their adult life. This article focuses on the increasing participation gap of first-time voters with low and high levels of resources. Looking first at 14 European countries and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWest European politics Vol. 43; no. 4; pp. 819 - 844
Main Authors Schäfer, Armin, Roßteutscher, Sigrid, Abendschön, Simone
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 06.06.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic achievement
Age differences
Citizens
costs of voting
Elections
First-time voters
habitual voting
Inequality
Time
turnout
Voter behavior
Voter turnout
Voters
Voting
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Summary:Research on voting behaviour stresses that whether citizens become habitual voters depends on the very first elections in their adult life. This article focuses on the increasing participation gap of first-time voters with low and high levels of resources. Looking first at 14 European countries and second at long-term dynamics in Germany, the turnout rate of first-time and older voters over time is compared. It is shown that the turnout gap has increased substantially since the 1980s. In contrast, educational differences in electoral turnout among older citizens are still comparatively small. It is argued and shown that the turnout gap among the young is due to rising 'start-up' costs of voting, which affect mainly those who are resource poor.
ISSN:0140-2382
1743-9655
DOI:10.1080/01402382.2019.1638141