Turnout: Electors stay home - Again

Parliamentary Affairs

Volumn 58, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 120-129

  Curtice, John ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 27144494236     PISSN: 00312290     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/pa/gsi066     Document Type: Review

References (19)

1. All references in this chapter are to Great Britain excluding Northern Ireland, unless otherwise stated. The recent history of turnout in Northern Ireland has been very different from that in the rest of Great Britain. Turnout actually rose slightly to 68.0% in 2001, when the election took place in the midst of a major debate about the future of devolution in the province. In 2005, however, by which time there seemed to be no immediate prospect of restoring devolved political institutions, turnout fell by 5.1 points to 62.9%, the lowest ever in a Westminster election since partition in 1922.
2. I. Crewe and K. Thomson, 'Party Loyalties: Dealignment or Realignment?' in G. Evans and P. Norris (eds), Critical Elections: British Parties and Voters in Long-Term Perspective, Sage, 1999.
3. P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Governance, Oxford University Press, 1998;
4. C. Bromley, J. Curtice and B. Seyd, 'Political Engagement, Trust and Constitutional Reform' in A. Park, J. Curtice, K. Thomson, L. Jarvis and C. Bromley (eds), British Social Attitudes: The 18th Report - Public Policy, Social Ties, Sage, 2004;
5. R. Dalton, Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choices, Oxford University Press, 2004.
6. C. Bromley and J. Curtice, 'Where Have All the Voters Gone?' in A. Park, J. Curtice, K. Thomson, L. Jarvis and C. Bromley (eds), British Social Attitudes: the 19th Report, Sage, 2002;
7. M. Franklin, Voter Turnout and the Dynamics of Electoral Competition in Established Democracies since 1945, Cambridge University Press, 2004.
8. See the argument developed in A. Heath and B. Taylor, 'New Sources of Abstention?' in G. Evans and P. Norris (eds), Critical Elections; British Parties and Voters in Long-Term Perspective, Sage, 1999.
9. J. Curtice, S. Fisher and M. Steed, 'Appendix: Analysis of the Results' in D. Butler and M. Westlake, British Elections and European Politics 2004, Palgrave, 2004.
10. C. Rallings and M. Thrasher, Local Elections Handbook 2004, Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, 2004.
11. R.J. Johnston, C.J. Pattie, D.F.L. Dorling and D.J. Rossiter, From Votes to Seats: The Operation of the UK Electoral System since 1945, Manchester University Press, 2001.
12. Indeed, a poll conducted just before polling day by Populus for The Times found that no less than 78% thought that Labour would win an overall majority, with nearly one in three of this group anticipating a Labour majority of more than 100.
13. J. Curtice and M. Steed, 'Appendix 2; The Results Analysed' in D. Butler and D. Kavanagh, The British General Election of 2001, Palgrave, 2001.
14. J. Curtice and M. Steed, 'Appendix 2; The Results Analysed' in D. Butler and D. Kavanagh, The British General Election of 1997, Macmillan, 1997.
15. In the average constituency in 2001, the proportion of votes cast by post was 1.286 times the proportion of voters issued with a ballot paper.
16. A number of the allegations about the possible abuse of postal voting, including the case in Birmingham, have involved areas with high Asian populations. On average, however, the proportion of the electorate registered to vote by post was not particularly high in constituencies with relatively high Asian populations. On average, in those constituencies where according to the 2001 Census more than 10% of adults are from an Asian background, just over 11% were registered to vote by post. For details of the government's proposals on postal voting, see Department for Constitutional Affairs, Electoral Administration: A Policy Paper for Discussion, Department for Constitutional Affairs, 2005;
17. Electoral Commission, Securing the Vote, Electoral Commission, 2005.
18. Electoral Commission, Electoral Pilots at the June 2004 Elections, Electoral Commission, 2003.
19. J. Curtice, S. Fisher and M. Steed, 'Appendix: Analysis of the Results' in D. Butler and M. Westlake, British Elections and European Politics 2004, Palgrave, 2004.