HeavenlyPossumJan 5, 2024

“The low expected turnout in the upcoming elections reflects a popular rejection of the…political system, which is suffering from a legitimacy crisis and the absence of real opposition forces to vie with the parties in power…”

We have no problem identifying low voter turnout as a consequence of political illegitimacy. People decline to vote because they recognize that voting will not produce meaningful change, because it’s not worth it and because they don’t want to participate in a corrupt system…

…as long as we’re talking about countries other than the US. When US voters withhold their participation, they’re almost certainly going to hear about how they personally want fascism to win. Haven’t you heard that this is The Most Important Election in Our Lifetime? All systemic analysis goes out the window and all we can talk about is personal failure.

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/iraqi-political-systems-legitimacy-problem-low-expected-turnout-provincial

The Iraqi Political System’s Legitimacy Problem: Low Expected Turnout for Provincial Elections

Predicted low voter turnout for Iraq’s first provincial elections in a decade signals the lack of popular trust in Iraq for the country’s political system.

The Washington Institute
Show threadSrijit Kumar Bhadra

@HeavenlyPossum

“The low expected turnout in the upcoming elections reflects a popular rejection of the…political system, which is suffering from a legitimacy crisis and the absence of real opposition forces to vie with the parties in power…”People decline to vote because they recognize that voting will not produce meaningful change, because it’s not worth it and because they don’t want to participate in a corrupt system…You are only highlighting political apathy. That may not be the only reason in India. In mega cities of India, including Bengaluru, the calculation of low voter turnout percentage is wrong due to:
1. Out-of-sync voter lists in mega cities that have a lot of migration and inter-city movement. It may require significant effort to get the name added in the electoral roll after migrating to another city.
2. Duplicate entries and improper deletions, during an effort to clean up the electoral rolls, leading to the disenfranchisement of genuine voters.

The above does not necessarily mean that citizens can be absolved. Indian political parties must introspect why their election manifestos and candidates are failing to motivate voters to come out and vote enthusiastically.

#VoterTurnout #Elections #Politics #Demographics #ElectoralRegistration #VoterRegistration #VoterID #MastodonIndians #Mastindians #MastIndia #India

Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/elections/karnataka-assembly/low-turnout-not-poll-apathy-but-out-of-sync-voter-lists-say-analysts-and-citizens/article66839921.ece

Low turnout: Not poll apathy, but out-of-sync voter lists, say analysts and citizens

Does half of Bengaluru not vote? Or is there something more to it? As the numbers for Bengaluru released by the Election Commission on Thursday showed 55% voter turnout barring postal votes and home voting, experts and civic group activists say errors in voter rolls like duplication, deletion, and mismatched entries that send voters from one booth to another are reasons for the underwhelming numbers.

The Hindu
Jan 7, 2024 at 2:12amWeb
Show threadHeavenlyPossumJan 7, 2024

@srijit

I don’t know why people would need to be “absolved” for declining to cast ballots, which is not a synonym for political apathy.

Show threadskuaJan 7, 2024

@srijit @HeavenlyPossum

Sad to hear that so many Indians are ok-enough with fascism, having them not stand against Modi.