LK election: Little participation was to be expected

The low voter turnout of only 30.26 percent in the Chamber of Agriculture election is not surprising for him, says the Graz political scientist Klaus Poier. Participation in chamber elections was recently always low at 30 to 40 percent. In addition, the professor at the University of Graz refers to the currently special framework conditions caused by the coronavirus.

Coronavirus as one of the reasons

“It is not surprising that here some of the electorate simply meant that you don’t have to devote yourself to this topic very much because you have other problems. On the other hand, there are individual people who would probably have voted personally and then did not do so because of the risk of infection, ”says Poier.

Since compulsory voting was abolished, voter turnout has fallen. Citizens would think carefully about which choice is important to them. Participation in National Council elections is highest: “You have to see it in relative terms: A voter turnout of 30 percent is low compared to what is possible and compared to the National Council election, but at least 30 percent think it is worth it and a certain amount of effort operate to cast the vote. “

Criticism of franked envelopes

In the future, it is important to simplify voting in elections. This is what the political scientist calls the possibility of electronic voting. He also addresses the criticism that envelopes had to be franked: “If you can send unfranked envelopes, that would be better than having to stick a postage stamp on them.” In the Chamber of Agriculture elections, voting cards were returned to the farmers because the postal voting envelopes were insufficient were franked.

No conclusion on satisfaction

In general, from the fact how many people vote, one cannot necessarily infer how satisfied one is with the chamber. It could also be an expression of the fact that one is satisfied anyway, said Poier. Even in internationally established democracies such as Switzerland, one does not see high voter turnouts: “Therefore this conclusion, low voter turnout equals dissatisfaction, is actually not permissible.”

Regarding compulsory membership in the chambers, Poier says that this is a stabilizing factor in a society in which divisive tendencies are noticeable and should not be eliminated, but strengthened.

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