Eluding nonvoters
Political science continues to have tremendous trouble to capture the phenomenon of nonvoting – both Prof Roth and Dr de Nève stated and described this phenomenon clearly.
News from our project
Old people decide
Dieter Roth—Professor at Heidelberg University and co-founder of one of the leading political polling groups of Germany—noted during his intervention at the Choiceless Project Seminar how astonishing it really is that currently old people can and do decide almost everything, simply because many young people don’t vote or participate.
Change is coming
Traditionally, by which is—in this context—meant during the past fifty years or so, voting behaviour changes over the life course of a person. More often than not, being young meant less interest in voting—with the exception of the very first vote at age 18, resulting in a characteristic dip resembling a tick—and generally voting became again less relevant at old age.
But no more… – graphics and explanation follow below.
Sugarcoated turnout numbers
When it comes to election tournout numbers, all European countries fiddle the figures as much as they can. In doing so, they pretend a level of legitimacy of the voting system that, in fact, does no longer exist as implied.
Too much systematic exclusion
One of the eye-openers during the intervention by and discussion with PD Dr. Dorothée de Nève–political scientist and author of the 2009 book “Nonvoters – a danger for democracy?“–was the fact that large parts of the residents of European countries are systematically excluded from voting and participating in our democracies.
Berlin Berlin :)
Today our project seminar about, for and with voters & non-voters begins in Berlin, Germany.
For a week, we will look into voting and democracy, elections and abstentions, ideas and questions. We will listen to and discuss with scientists such as Dieter Roth, who founded one of the leading political polling groups of Germany, and Dorothée de Nève, author of the book «Nonvoters — a danger for democracy?»
Add your voice
A seminar about, for and with voters & non-voters in Berlin, Germany
„Why vote when politicians do whatever they want in any case?“
„Will politicians, without our vote, not always do whatever they want?“
You couldn’t agree – or disagree – more?
Then our seminar might be for you :)
Choiceless? Voiceless?
The elections for the Parliament of the European Union were just held. Many projects were trying to encourage young people to use their right to choose, and everyone has been shaking their heads about the lowest-ever voter turnout.
And yet, hardly anone really talks about—or with—the people who do not vote, except when someone is needed to put blame and shame on.
They are mystified and condemned, then thrust aside until the next election.
But we want to look into the corners that many other people ignore.
Who are the non-voting young people?
Photo von Sebastian Wieschowski / jugendfotos.de
In most European countries, non-voters tend to be concentrated in specific demographic and socioeconomic groups, especially the young and the poor. What is missing, in their opinion, to make voting attractive – or actually even possible?
We want to risk an attempt to see behind the curtain of non-voting and non-voters.
Looking at the theme of non-voting and non-voters is especially intriguing in connection with young people – which is why we have chosen this perspective as our entry-point in this project.
More information will be available soon – Thanks for coming back!