Voter Turnout: Liberal vs.

Social Democracies
A democracy is a political system in which the political power is controlled directly or
indirectly by the people1. There are many branches of democracy including advanced, direct or
indirect, liberal and social democracies. There are many differences between these democracies
but the biggest difference is the voter turnout between liberal and social democracies. Social
democracies produce on average the highest voter turnout because of the higher quality of
education and the happiness levels of the population.
A liberal democracy is a political system that promotes participation, competition, and liberty
and emphasizes individual freedom and civil rights2. A liberal democracy focuses its political
attention on liberalism which places a high priority on individual political and economic
freedom3. Some countries that are under a liberal democracy include the United States, Ireland
and Germany. These countries express the importance on individual rights.
A social democracy is a political system in which freedom and equality are balanced through the
states management of the economy and the provision of social expenditures4. Socialism is a
milder form of communism that allows for political freedom for individuals but does not allow
for private property. The government owns it. Denmark and the Scandinavian countries are prime
examples of a social democracy.
A liberal democracy allows for numerous individual rights. These include free speech, right of
association, right to a trial, right to bear arms as well as numerous other rights listed in the Bill of
Rights5. A liberal democracy is only successful if the state in question has a low degree of
1 Patrick H. ONeil, Essentials of Comparative Politics (New York: W.W Norton &
Company, 2013) A-17.
2 Ibid, A-19.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid, A-22.
5 ONeil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, 76.

autonomy so that the state can be held responsible by the people6. Liberals do however
understand that without some governmental intervention there would be a huge gap between the
wealthy and the poor7.
The word social democracy is often interchangeable with socialism. Social democracies draw
from both liberalism and communism ideologies8. It could be considered a government that
creates its policies from an in-between version of both forms of extreme government,
communism and liberal democracy. A social democracy is committed to equality through job
protection, medical care and higher education9. While a social democracys goal is to create
universal equality it may limit some freedoms seen in a liberal democracy10.
The voter turnout in both forms of democracy are vastly different. The United States is the most
powerful liberal democracy yet the voter turnout is far beyond that of other countries. The voter
turnout is on average 60 percent higher during years of presidential elections but it is still far
below that of other countries. According to idea.int, in 2008 when President Obama was elected
the voting age population was roughly 213 million people yet only 190 million of those were
registered to vote and only 122 million actually voted. Thats roughly 64 percent of the total
number of eligible voters. In 2010 when Congress is up for election the total voting age
population had increased to 235 million people and also increased in the number of registered
voters to 218 million yet the total number of people who voted decreased to 90 million people

6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid, 76.
9 Ibid, 78.
10 Ibid.

which makes that only a 41 percent voter turnout rate. In 2012, with Obamas re-election in
question, the voter turnout increased to 68 percent.
In Ireland, which is also a liberal democracy, the voter turnout is not much different from
the United States. Also according to idea.int, in Irelands 2011 Parliamentary election it had a
voting age population of 3,516,795. 3,202,442 of those people were registered to vote and
2,243,176 actually voted which estimates to about 70 percent of the voting age population. The
voter turnout percentage for the Parliamentary is relatively the same from 1948-2011. The lowest
voter turnout percentage is 62.57 percent and the highest is 76.93 percent. The Presidential voter
turnout is completely different in Ireland. The highest voter turnout for the president is 65.35
percent. This is different from the United States because the highest voter turnout for the U.S is
during years in which the president is elected while in Ireland the highest voter turnout is seen
when the parliament is being elected.
Germany has a parliamentary system which runs the government. Germanys voter
turnout rate is far different from the other two liberal democratic countries mentioned
beforehand. The voter turnout rate for Germany, according to idea.int is anywhere from 70.78
percent to 91.11 percent. One must question why the voter turnout rate is so different for
Germany.
Denmark is a social democracy with the head of government being the parliamentary.
Parliamentary elections for Denmark has seen relatively the same voter turnout since 1945. It has
never had a voter turnout rate below 80 percent based on data from idea.int. In 2011 the voting
age population was 4,374,759 and there were 4,079,910 registered voters while 3,579,675 of
those actually voted according to idea.int. Thats 88 percent of Denmarks voting age population
that voted in the 2011 election. Sweden, which is part of the Scandinavian countries, is also a
social democracy. Its voter turnout is also relatively high with numbers ranging from 79 percent
in 1952 to 91 percent in 1976.

The education in social democratic countries, namely Finland, is above and beyond the
education received in countries such as the United States. Finland places a high priority on
education, the teachers and the students. Ninety-nine percent of students complete basic
education in Finland and ninety percent of those complete upper secondary school11.

11 Nea.org