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Article

Increasing Turnout: A Compelling Case?

Details

Citation

Saunders B (2010) Increasing Turnout: A Compelling Case?. Politics, 30 (1), pp. 70-77. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2009.01368.x/abstract?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+disrupted+on+9+June+from+10%3A00-12%3A00+BST+%2805%3A00-07%3A00+EDT%29+for+essential+maintenance; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2009.01368.x

Abstract
Recently several thinkers have endorsed compulsion or other measures to increase turnout and revitalise democracy. This article argues that such measures are misguided, because lower turnout (even if unequal across social groups) is not necessarily undemocratic - indeed, it may serve democratic values by, for example, making it more likely that decisions really are made by the relevant constituency, with those most affected getting more say. Encouraging others to vote, or even to turn out, runs the risk of distorting electoral outcomes. If there is no clear democratic case for compulsion, then we should not risk even small limits on individual liberty.

Journal
Politics: Volume 30, Issue 1

StatusPublished
Publication date28/02/2010
URL
PublisherPolitical Studies Association
Publisher URL
ISSN0263-3957
eISSN1467-9256