Voting at Shopping Centres "Saved" Election Turnout

As the dust settles on the European Parliament elections, EU officials and experts do not seem to be overly concerned by the low turnout, instead stressing the lessons learned from positive experiences like allowing people to vote in railway stations and shopping centers, and over the Internet, the EurActiv commented.

According to the article the overall turnout of roughly 43% of the 375 million eligible voters represents an historical low and reiterates the growing apathy and lack of interest in EU affairs among Europe's citizens.

Yet, the fall from the 45.6% of 2004 is not as bad as many had feared on the eve of the elections and averted the crisis anticipated by repeated opinion polls, which had painted a much bleaker picture.

Despite being regrettably low, turnout did not fall disastrously but was instead flat, said Simon Hix, a professor at the London School of Economics and father of the Predict09 tool. Voter turnout decreased in many countries, but increased in Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria.

But what really boosted numbers were the structural changes made in some countries to lower the cost of casting a ballot, like allowing postal, Internet and pre-voting, or even just improving the opening hours of polling booths, noted Professor Claes de Vreese, chair of political communications at the University of Amsterdam.

According to de Vreese, allowing people to vote around the clock on the Internet or running an election in April rather than in June, when the weather gets better, are all factors that could influence future turnout. Sweden, for example, allowed people to vote in advance.

Five days ahead of the real election day, 12% of the electorate had already cast their ballot.

Voting also took place everywhere from libraries and shopping malls to old people's homes and parish halls. As a result, Sweden's turnout increased from 37.8% in 2004 to 43.9% this time around. 

Estonia, one of the EU's smallest member states with a population of 1.4 million, held the first i-voting (Internet voting) of the EU elections.

By doing so, experts say its voter turnout increased from 26.8%, one of the lowest in the 2004 elections, to 43.9% last week.

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