Can Political Turnout Be Measured Other Than by Electoral Turnout? (25 Marks)

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Can Political Turnout Be Measured Other than By Electoral Turnout? (25 Marks) The measurement of the Political turnout is the extent of a population that gets involved in politics, while the electoral turnout is the percentage of the eligible electorate that voted. It could be said you could measure political turnout other than by electoral turnout as there are other forms of political turnout in which participation is increasing. An example is “Buycotting”, where members of the public deliberately choose one brand over another, to force the brand to change. The large power of Buycotting forced McDonalds to introduce salads, as people stopped eating there because of how unhealthy the food on offer was. However, it could be said political turnout can only be measured by electoral turnout as this is the most usual method and also the one that can be measured the easiest, with us knowing with a high degree of accuracy that electoral turnout in the 2010 General Election was 65.1%. That political turnout can be measured other than by electoral turnout is shown by the falling levels of electoral turnout in UK General Election’s and the rising forms of indirect participation. The statement can also be proved by the quality of other forms of participation compared to voting in elections in the UK. Electoral turnout can’t just be used as a measure of political turnout due to the 18 plus age limit on voting in the UK, excluding younger voters. However, it could be said that political participation can be measured by electoral turnout. Overall, the most persuasive argument

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