12 Nov 2023 at 05:06
Dutch people’s confidence in politics is currently extremely low. But that doesn’t mean we don’t go to the voting booth. “Only people who think that voting really makes no sense stay at home more often.”
Turnout in the House of Representatives elections is going well, says Josje den Ridder, scientific employee at the Social Cultural Planning Office. “It has fluctuated at around 80 percent in recent years, and that is actually quite high. Especially if you compare it with other countries.” She does note that turnout is often much lower in elections for local municipalities and the Provincial Council elections.
It is difficult to say who the people are who do not vote. They often do not participate in studies or surveys. According to Den Ridder, this concerns people who have a maximum of primary school, VMBO or MBO education, young people or very old people who have difficulty getting to the polling station. “Or people with a migration background and who have less confidence in politics.”
Lowest confidence in politics since 2012
In the last quarter of 2022, 25 percent of people over the age of fifteen had confidence in the House of Representatives, according to research by the Central Bureau of Statistics. That is the lowest level since 2012, when CBS first investigated it. At 21 percent, trust in politicians is also considerably lower than in previous years.
But Den Ridder emphasizes that people who have less confidence in politics do not automatically skip elections. “If trust in politics is low, this does not always lead to poorer turnout in elections.” As an example, she points to the House of Representatives elections in 2021. “There was not much confidence in politics at that time, but the turnout was also around 80 percent.”
Den Ridder: “Some of the people with little confidence vote for parties that give them the feeling that they are represented by them. In 2002 this was Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF), more recently it concerns parties such as the PVV, Forum voor Democratie , the BoerBurgerMovement and now also the party of Pieter Omtzigt.” According to her, these are parties that say that politics is not functioning and that this must change. “They mobilize voters with little confidence, who then want to vote.”
The group that stays away from polling stations is extremely diverse
Only if people think that voting really makes no sense will they not do it. But there are also other reasons why people stay at home. “The most commonly given reason is that people don’t have time or are on holiday,” says Den Ridder. “That often goes together with another reason: lack of interest. A small group stays at home out of principle considerations, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
She emphasizes that a person’s social environment also contributes to the will to vote. According to her, people who do vote feel a kind of ‘civic duty’; people who believe that voting is at the core of democracy. “But if you live in an environment where it is never discussed, you are also less encouraged to vote.” For example, in previous elections there were entire urban areas where election turnout lagged far behind.
How do you get those people to the polls? Municipalities can play a role in this. But a survey by NU.nl of large municipalities shows that no extra effort will be made this year to get people to vote. For the time being, it remains the usual large election signs and sending a letter with the voting card.
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‘Voting in the Netherlands is already quite accessible’
Den Ridder says that the government is already doing many things to increase election turnout. “You can vote in many different places, polling stations are open for a long time, you can authorize people to vote for you. It is accessible.”
According to her, it is especially important that people know that their voice matters. “There needs to be a lot of attention for this, for example through the media, and parties must make it clear what they stand for. Municipalities can do less about that.”
Additional efforts would cost a lot of money and yield little, Den Ridder suspects. “And you don’t do many of those things just before the elections, that’s something you have to build up.” According to her, it mainly lies with the political parties themselves. “Aim campaigns at specific groups or neighborhoods. Parties do this, for example, when they go door to door. That has a quicker effect on turnout.”
2023-11-12 04:06:00
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