Long-term Effects of Political Exclusion on Political Support

Voting is the least unequal form of political participation as regardless of resources all individuals have only one vote. Still, a rising number of inhabitants in democratic countries are not allowed to vote at national elections. This exclusion not only affects those below the voting age but also those with foreign citizenship. In Germany, for instance, about 8 million inhabitants of voting age that largely follow the same obligations as other citizens are deprived of the most essential form of political participation. How does the exclusion from basic rights affect individuals’ support for democracy, the democratic system, and its institutions in the long run? We rely on panel data from the DeZIM.panel, a randomly sampled, online access panel of the German residential population, oversampling immigrants with more than 3,000 participants, using three waves fielded one year apart each. We analyze how electoral exclusion relates to specific and diffuse support for democracy compared to similar individuals with citizenship. We argue that withholding the right to vote puts a political system at risk of losing its fundamental basis of support.