Vox Analysis – Voting Sunday: Why the turnout was so low – News

  • The last voting Sunday (May 15) only mobilized around 40 percent of the electorate.
  • The reasons for this were Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the lifting of the corona measures.
  • This is the conclusion reached by the JRC Bern in the newly published Vox analysis. For this purpose, 3231 voters were questioned.

The analysis states: During the voting campaigns, the war dominated the media headlines. And after the corona measures were lifted, political decisions were no longer so present in everyday life for some. According to the analysis, another reason for the rather low turnout was the sometimes low personal significance of the proposals.

What does the Vox analysis examine?


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The Vox project has existed since 1977 and, on behalf of the Federal Council, examines all voting decisions at national level. This analysis is based on a survey. It helps to understand the participation and motives of the voters for a yes or no at the ballot box.

In the November vote last year, the turnout was still a very high 65.7 percent. At that time, it was about the Covid 19 law, among other things. But as early as February 2022, only 44 percent of the electorate were still voting.

Men over 65 voted the most

Younger people take part in the vote depending on their interest in the proposal, while older people still see voting as a citizen’s duty. That explains the big differences in age. Men over the age of 65 participated most in the last vote. People between the ages of 18 and 29 – regardless of gender – are the weakest. Women vote less across all age groups.

In addition, political orientation also played an important role during this vote. Voters who position themselves politically poles – i.e. more left or right – voted more frequently than those who would place themselves in the middle.

Forget there are votes

The Vox study also asked why someone didn’t vote. Most often, part of the voting population forgot to take part in the vote. Those entitled to vote were the second most likely to be unable to attend. The third most frequent response was that they were not interested in the voting topics.

In the vote on May 15, 2022, the Swiss electorate accepted the three bills – the amendment to the Film Act, the amendment to the Transplantation Act and “Frontex”. Detailed information on the type of survey and the interpretation of the results can be found on the Website of the Institute GFS Bern.

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