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Comparing local electoral turnout in Great Britain and France: More similarities than differences?
Author(s) -
HOFFMANNMARTINOT VINCENT,
RALLINGS COLIN,
THRASHER MICHAEL
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1996.tb00676.x
Subject(s) - turnout , census , demographic economics , order (exchange) , regression analysis , political science , econometrics , geography , demography , economics , sociology , statistics , politics , voting , mathematics , population , finance , law
Electoral and census data from Great Britain and France are used in a comparative analysis of the levels and determinants of local election turnout in the two countries. First, nine simple propositions about variations in turnout are tested using as similar as possible variables for each country. These variables are then used as the bases for multi‐variate regression analyses. The residual cases in each country are compared in order to explore the more qualitative factors which may explain why some localities have a level of participation so much above or below that expected statistically. The paper ends with an attempt to specify an explanatory model of local electoral turnout applicable to both countries.