Global voter turnout has been in decline since the 1960s – we wanted to find out why

By Filip Kostelka, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Government, University of Essex
André Blais, Full Professor, Department of Political Science, Université de Montréal

Any democratic nation in the world holding a legislative or presidential election in the late 1960s could expect around 77% of its citizens to turn up to vote. These days, they can expect more like 67% – a decline that is both problematic and puzzling.

Research shows that low turnout is bad for democracy. It usually means that socioeconomically underprivileged citizens vote less and, as a result, public policies benefit the rich. Politicians feel less…

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