Voter turnout decline in New Zealand: A critical review of the literature and suggestions for future research

Voter turnout in New Zealand has declined markedly since 1984. This article offers a critical survey of policy and political science literature that addresses voter turnout decline in New Zealand, comparing it with international trends in this field. We provide a profile of the non-voter in New Zeal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Zealand sociology 2019, Vol.34 (1), p.1-26
Main Authors: Foster, Jack, Taylor, Dylan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abstention
Capital markets
Capitalism
Democracy
Demography
Economic factors
Economics
Efficacy
Elections
Inequality
Law and legislation
Literature reviews
Local elections
Minority & ethnic groups
Neoliberalism
Political aspects
Political economy
Political science
Politics
Population
Psychological aspects
Responsiveness
Sociology
Trends
Variables
Voter behavior
Voter turnout
Voting
Voting rights
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Summary:Voter turnout in New Zealand has declined markedly since 1984. This article offers a critical survey of policy and political science literature that addresses voter turnout decline in New Zealand, comparing it with international trends in this field. We provide a profile of the non-voter in New Zealand and identify and critique six common explanations for non-voting: psychological factors; institutional variables; electoral context variables; macro-economic trends; mobilisation variables; and a generational shift away from 'habitual voting'. Each of these trends is, in itself, limited in its capacity to satisfactorily explain non-voting. We therefore offer a synthesis of these trends to provide a fuller account of voter turnout decline in New Zealand. We argue that the literature would be usefully extended by more systemic analysis of the issue that considers political-economic restrictions to parliamentary democracy. We extend this critique by briefly noting the negative effects that trade and capital market liberalisation has had on government responsiveness to citizens. Consideration of such issues raises questions about the efficacy of parliamentary democracy in contemporary capitalism.
ISSN:0112-921X
1173-1036
1173-1036