Are Latin American voters exceptional? Electoral participation revisited, 1978-2012

• In Event: Electoral Systems and Political Institutions

Abstract

Research that examines cross-national electoral participation finds that a series of institutional and socioeconomic factors explains voter turnout. However, works that study Latin American countries find that only institutional variables are causally related to turnout. The absence of a relation between socioeconomic factors and turnout is not based on theoretical expectations, and relies on samples that present empirical shortcomings. I argue that relevant economic and educational changes, the ethnic composition, and the geographical distribution of voters should have an impact on the levels of regional turnout. Using a sample that for the first time includes countries undergoing democratic transitions and consolidations, I provide a statistical test that shows that education, inflation, urbanization, and ethnic homogeneity explain turnout. Institutional variables, especially compulsory voting, also have a relevant impact on electoral participation.

Author

• Ignacio Arana Araya, University of Pittsburgh