Gamification of Elections - Part 6
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

Cast Vote? Yes / No / Cancel

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 7

In this final article I will circle back to the original question: What to do about declining voter turnout. How to reinvigorate the interest in voting – especially for a new generation, trained on instant gratification and stuck in constant feedback loops. Working on this from the angle of a game designer won’t deliver a cure-all solution. It probably won’t even make a dent in the graphs. But the general idea is a powerful one, and if just a handful of people can be attracted to politics, into electoral studies or more generally in the process of democracy, then the effort should be worth it.

Gamification of elections - Part 1
by Sebastian Benjamin Reichl -

Voter Fatigue, or: Chronic Conditions of the Modern Mind

GAMIFICATION OF ELECTIONS – PART 1

Electoral turnout has been in steady decline over the past several decades. Neither the numerous motivational incentives, nor the lowering of the voting age, nor the pandering to electoral fringe groups could spur voters to take their voices to the ballots. While here in Austria there were 500.000 more voters eligible for the general election (Nationalratswahl) in 2018 than 13 years ago, the percentage of voter participation dropped more than 7% – from 86% in 1995 to 78.8% in 2018. The same pattern can be witnessed in the Austrian presidential elections. From a “high water mark” of 95% back in the 70s, the turnout declined continuously to reach the lowest ever value of 70% in 2016. This pattern emerges throughout all elections. But why?