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Voter Participation and Party-Group Fortunes in European Parliament Elections, 1979-1999: A Cross-National Analysis

Texas A&M University

Benjamin Radcliff

University of Notre Dame

Scholars have addressed the relationship between voter participation and party electoral fortunes for some time. Specifically, a number of studies postulate that left-of-center parties are the primary beneficiaries of higher rates of voter turnout. This research note extends this argument to a classic "low turnout" environment: the elections to the European Parliament. Using data from 11 members of the European Union between 1979 and 1999, we test the turnout-party vote linkage through pooled cross-national time series analysis. We find that, indeed, increased turnout benefits the left party groups in the European Parliament. We conclude with some implications for this finding.

Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 1, 91-95 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/106591290305600109


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