“Corrupt politicians, sarcastic press, alienated citizens, diminishing ideology, addiction to the polls, apathy among youth, and a substantial decline in voting rates all over the Western world are all KILLING DEMOCRACY”
This past weekend, the Maariv newspaper published an article on Israel’s upcoming elections. Among those interviewed were leading political consultants, acclaimed professors and polling experts, including IDI President Dr. Arye Carmon, Senior Fellow Professor Asher Arian, and Research Assistants Nir Atmor and Yael Hadar. Below are some highlights…
- “On Tuesday, we are not only voting for one party or another. Israel’s fate is being decided, and it is imperative that everyone vote…” said IDI president Dr. Carmon. “Not voting is a dangerous trend,” he explained, “especially in Israel, where democracy is still in its formative stage and still vulnerable. Voting is the highest form of civil involvement in a country’s future…”
- Yael Hadar stated that “As long as we see a decline in the number of people who vote the quality of those elected declines along with their sense of responsibility towards the public.”
Interesting statistics:
- 27% of the Israeli public feels apathy towards politics, according to recent study by the Herzog Institute of Tel Aviv University.
- Only about 50% of Russian immigrants plan to vote, according to a recent IDI poll.
Voting rates in other democracies:
- France – In the 19th century, the regime’s unwillingness to grant women the right to vote led to a lowered voting rates among those who were lobbying for women’s suffrage, says Professor Michael Harsgor of Tel Aviv University. In Israel, since 1969, 59% of those who abstain from voting believed that they weren’t able to make a difference.
- In Scandinavian countries, the government takes care of their citizens’ interests and the citizens feel that they are being taken care of. The voter turnout there is therefore high, says Professor Dan Bar-On from Ben-Gurion University.
- Citizens that view polls before the elections often feel that the results are already known and set. Last May, in England, a low voter turnout was linked to the fact that people already knew that Blair would win, explains Professor Amnon Rubinstein, President of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. “The results are known in advance and that reduces the voter’s appetite to vote, even though the opinion polls are sometimes wrong.”
The article also included voting rates for all of Israel’s previous Knessets:
|
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Knesset
Number |
|
1973 |
1969 |
1965 |
1961 |
1959 |
1955 |
1951 |
1949 |
Year |
|
78.6% |
81% |
83% |
83% |
81.6% |
82.8% |
75.1% |
86.9% |
Voter
Turnout |