Non-Voting in Catalonia and Madrid: The So-Called 'Differential' Abstention

Low turn-out in Catalonia's autonomous or regional elections has been explained as an effect of the low mobilization of citizens born in other Spanish regions who were established in Catalonia after the inner migrations of the 50's and 60's. A different "national feeling" would estrange these electors from the Catalan political universe and its political institutions. However, this traditional thesis is weakened when electoral turnout in both the autonomous community of Madrid and Catalonia is compared. The comparison shows that the same pattern of "differential" abstention appears in Madrid general and regional elections. It seems therefore that the perception of autonomous elections as "second order" elections might be a stronger factor to explain both cases. In addition, an analysis of electoral behavior at the local level shows that big cities in Catalonia and Madrid also give a lower turn-out in regional and local elections as if the social and civic cohesion at these cities had been impaired by their huge and accelerated growth. It seems, therefore, that more research is needed to convincingly explain the so-called "differential" abstention that appears in Catalonia and Madrid. Adapted from the source document.