Different forms of
political participation: Electoral participation
Description
A Levels Government and Politics (Participation and Voting behaviour) Mind Map on Different forms of
political participation: Electoral participation, created by dottydiva96 on 24/11/2013.
Different forms of
political participation:
Electoral participation
Electoral participation
Electorate - those who are
both eligible and registered
to vote in a given election
Franchise - the right to vote
In 1831, on 5% of over 18's
were able to vote. By 1969,
99% of adults had the vote
You cannot vote in elections in the
Westminster Parliament if you are:
A EU citizen from an EU
country other than Britain
or Ireland
A member of
the House of
Lords
A
convicted
criminal
who is in
prison
Convicted of a corrupt or
illegal electoral practice
Suffering from
severe mental
illness
Turnout and abstinence
Low turnout is problem because
it brings into question the
governments legitimacy and the
strength of its electoral mandate
When considering the turnout one
should remember three points:
The national turnout figure masks
massive regional variations. Such
variation may result either from the
saliency of local issues or from the
extent to which voters in different
areas believe that their vote is
likely to make any real difference
to the outcome of the contest.This
variation is referred to as differential
turnout
A number of factors may
account for differential turnout
Whether people
think their vote will
count
Local or national
issues and
controversies
Media attenetion
How marginal an individual
seat or election is (is there a
chance to make a real
change?)
Turnout varies considerably
according to variables such
as age, gender, social class
and etthnicist.
Turnout varies
significantly between
different types of
elections