Local passion and national apathy: investigating the phenomenon of selective voting behaviour

Abstract

Although there is a substantial difference in turnout between local and national elections, a significant number of citizens are locally mobilised yet they do not vote in national elections. While some previous studies have predominantly attributed this pattern to a municipal size, this study ascertains that locally bound motives and attitudinal factors also exert influence, independent of the municipality size. The research reveals that citizens who report personal acquaintance with local councillors also express an overall satisfaction with the local election outcomes and perceive a notable change in council politics are more inclined to vote only in local elections. Although displaying lower support of central government, these locally mobilised citizens exhibit greater satisfaction with the state of democracy and local political dynamics in comparison to non-voters. Consequently, these significant findings offer an optimistic outlook from a democratic theory perspective.