The consequences of electoral system change for social inequalities of turnout

The phenomenon of turnout has always been a major field of research on democracy and high turnout rates are widely seen as a sign of democratic stability and legitimacy. On the contrary, low turnout rates are often seen as more problematic for democracy. Besides the concerns about possible lacks of satisfaction with democracy or legitimacy, the phenomenon of low turnout is also associated to that of social inequality. On the one hand, lower turnout means more unequal participation as the socially deprived participate less in elections. On the other hand, lower turnout caused by less electoral participation of the lower classes leads to worse representation of these parts of society. Since research on electoral participation has taken place, the electoral system has always been seen as one of the most crucial variables for turnout and for social equality in terms of voting. Therefore, the research questions that I want to answer in my dissertation project are following: What are the consequences of electoral system change for social inequalities of turnout? And what could be successful measures of electoral reform to reduce social inequality in electoral participation? The dissertation makes use of a comparative research design by quantitatively analyzing macro- and micro-level data on the effects of electoral reform on turnout and social inequalities of electoral participation in the OECD member states in a time-series cross-sectional model. By especially paying attention to the changes of electoral systems and by integrating these in a comprehensive theoretical framework I want to close a gap of research in this field.