When do active citizens abstain from the polls? Civic associations, non-electoral participation, and voting in 21st-century democracies

Abstract

One of the most consistent findings in the literature is that non-electoral political participation has a positive and robust association with electoral participation. However, all democracies have citizens who regularly engage in non-electoral political action but do not vote. Curiously, this abstentionist-activist profile has received little attention. Drawing on elements of the civic voluntarism model and electoral theories, this study tests an argument as to why and when active citizens—i.e., citizens who are politically active in non-electoral terms—are more likely to abstain from the polls. Using data from the International Social Survey Program and multivariate logistic regressions, the results show that when active citizens lack ties to social organizations, their probability of abstaining from the polls increases significantly. However, the results also showed that membership in organizations is relevant only for active citizens who express a limited sense of civic duty. This article discusses the electoral consequences of growing levels of activism based on forms of coordination that are not rooted in traditional civic associations.