Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-7zcd7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-07T13:29:38.052Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

More Turnover, Less Turnout? Domestic Migration and Political Participation Across Communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2025

Giuliana Pardelli*
Affiliation:
Social Science Division, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Alexander Kustov
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
*
Corresponding author: Giuliana Pardelli; Email: giuliana.pardelli@nyu.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Why do some areas experience lower voter turnout even under compulsory voting systems? This paper examines the impact of migration turnover – encompassing both in- and out-migration – on voter turnout across communities. While past research has focused on migrant/non-migrant differences or in-/out-migration separately, we propose that both migratory movements tend to decrease political participation due to increased transaction and social costs. Using surveys and a new panel dataset combining census and voting records from over 5,000 Brazilian municipalities, we identify a robust negative association between local migratory turnover and voter turnout. This relationship holds across various time frames, levels of aggregation, analytical approaches, and variable definitions. Individual-level data analyses further corroborate these results. Additional tests suggest social costs constitute a key mechanism deterring turnout. These findings highlight the need to consider the broader consequences of population mobility for democratic processes and representation, particularly in areas experiencing higher levels of turnover.

Information

Type
Letter
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NC
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Figure 1. Negative Contextual Effects of Migration Turnover on Turnout.

Figure 1

Table 1. The Relationship Between Migration Shares and Turnout Rates Across Space and Time

Supplementary material: File

Pardelli and Kustov supplementary material

Pardelli and Kustov supplementary material
Download Pardelli and Kustov supplementary material(File)
File 1.2 MB
Supplementary material: Link

Pardelli and Kustov Dataset

Link