Voter Turnout Essay

FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER TURNOUT IN CEBU CITY

I. Introduction

Rationale The scientific investigation of elections is called psephology; this term exudes from the Greek word for "pebble." (In antediluvian Greek city-states, individuals voted by depositing hued pebbles into containers.) We are solidly fascinated with discovering patterns in electoral behavior. What sorts of individuals, for instance, vote for the various parties competing for power? One response to this perpetually topical inquiry is that, as a general rule, individuals slope to vote essentially as per their socio-economic status: wealthier individuals grade to vote in favor of the more conservative parties, (for example, the Republicans in the United States, the Conservative

This question implies knowing the percentage of voters who actually showed up in the polls or what is commonly termed as “voter turnout.” Understandably, such knowledge is important not only to those conducting poll surveys or to those running for elective posts, but also to the entire nation as well. A good turnout of voters would easily translate to good democracy wherein majority of the members of the society is conscious of their rights as citizens of the country, whereas a bad turnout of voters would mean that the citizens do not care about who will become the leaders of the

It also specifies certain factors that may help democracy emerge or endure.” (Sodaro, 2004: 69) “It is a standing premise of democratic theory that voters need to be aware of what they are doing when they vote. Without a minimum level of political comprehension on the part of the electorate, the act of voting may be meaningless and the very notion of popular sovereignty illusory. Democracy thus rests on the assumption that voters are rational. Are they?” (Sodaro, 2004: