Patterns of Participation in Local Elections: Political Competition and Voter Turnout in Austria

Local elections are often considered less relevant. However, this insufficiently researched field forms the often-neglected basis of modern multi-level political systems. Local elections have distinctive characteristics and certain qualities which can inform us about electoral trends and mobilization at the national level. The "bottom-up" perspective on election results, participation and representation offers an unobstructed view on competitive structures in politics and the effects of candidate supply on voter turnout. I am investigating the influence of regional election laws on mayoral and municipal elections in eight provinces of Austria. Different institutional frameworks affect voter turnout and party competition in various ways within a similar political environment. This setting is the basis for a comparative research on turnout change. New competitors, split-off or spoiler lists and additional mayoral candidates alter the political supply-side. Together with demographic changes these observations show remarkable frequent patterns of participation. Political Competition is operationalized according to Stefano Bartolini with the dimensions of Contestability, Availability, Decidability and Vulnerability Furthermore, changes in the number of competing lists and candidates are analyzed via causal inference to asses average treatment effect. The regression models show that ore lists in municipal council elections yield higher voter turnout in smaller communities with up to 2.500 residents. Additionally, more competing lists or candidates foster turnout generally and decreasing number of lists and candidates dampens voter turnout.