Rising start-up costs of voting: political inequality among first-time voters |
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Authors: | Armin Schäfer Sigrid Roßteutscher Simone Abendschön |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Political Science, University of Münster, Münster, Germany;2. aschaefer@uni-muenster.de;4. Department of Social Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany;5. Department of Social Sciences, Justus Liebig University Gie?en, Gie?en, Germany |
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Abstract: | AbstractResearch 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. |
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Keywords: | First-time voters costs of voting habitual voting elections turnout inequality |
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