Voter Turnout in the Netherlands: The Case of Noord-Brabant

Abstract

This thesis looks into the question of voter turnout in the province of Noord Brabant. For years and years, ballot attendance in Brabant has been exceptionally low, especially in comparison to other provinces in the Netherlands. What factors might explain this low voter turnout? What have previous scholars written about these phenomena? The thesis is subdivided into four sub questions, each of which tries to look into a different element of society that might explain voter turnout. These are the level of income, the level of education, religion, and voter participation. The entire research takes a positivist approach, which means that there is an objective world, in which certain things are true or not. Hard evidence and empirical data, derived from the municipal level within Noord Brabant, are at the basis of this approach. The statistical research in this thesis is based on regression analysis. The data are derived from the CBS and the Electoral Council of the Netherlands.