Effect of Information on Voter Turnout: Empirical Evidence from Assembly Elections in India

This paper explores the importance of information in determining voter turnout by using Vidhan Sabha electoral data from the 14 major states of India during the period 2001-02 to 2020-21. As per the Indian constitution, citizens of age 18 and above are eligible for voting. Why voters should cast vote? Is the act of voting rational? It is not expected that a voter casts his vote only for getting material benefit as a single vote cannot change the overall outcome of an election. It is true that some voters cast their votes for maintaining their duties as a citizen. In India, there is an upward trend of voter turnout over time. So there are some other reasons that influence voter turnout. In this context, this paper measures the role of various determinants of voter turnout. Broadly, the literature on voter turnout can be divided into two groups – one is Rational voter model and another is Information theory. These theories provide the rationale for including the determinants of voter turnout and explain the reasons behind voter turnout. The important determinants that are considered in the paper: closeness of the election, the number of parties in the electoral landscape, and the availability of information to voters. This paper specifically focuses on the role of information in explaining voter turnout in assembly elections of selected Indian states. In the analysis, five important information variables are considered: circulation of newspaper, literacy rate, ownership of television, ownership of radio and transistor, and penetration of telephone. The principal findings of the paper are as follows. First, the effective number of parties in a legislature has a negative impact on voter turnout. This result validates the theory that an increase in the effective number of parties magnifies information cost which may reduce a voter’s incentive to cast her ballot. Second, the effect of the information variables on turnout is direct. Specifically, the ownership of television and the ownership of radio and transistor significantly increase voter turnout. These results are robust across various specifications used in the empirical analysis. In sum, a substantial amount of variation in the voter turnout is explained by the effective number of parties and the availability of information to an individual. Moreover, the effects of the information variables are more prominent in the southern states compared to other parts of India.