The electorate is a group of citizens who have the right to participate in a vote to choose their political representatives. Each country has its own legislation regarding the minimum age required to exercise the right to vote (in most cases this minimum is 18 years). Legal age is not the only requirement to be part of the electorate, as a person may be unable to vote for various reasons: for a fundamental administrative error, for being declared incapable before the court due to his mental state or for being declared rebellious for criminal case.
Another aspect that must be taken into account in relation to the electorate is the fact that some nations have an obligation to vote, except for some very specific and justified exceptions.
General considerations about the electorate
As a general rule, every citizen is a voter as long as he is properly regularized. Spain currently has a population of over 47 million inhabitants and its electorate is approximately 36 million; this means that voters represent something more than 75% of the total population.
The various political parties and media communication promote sociological studies to meet the concerns and interests of the electorate. The data obtained can be relevant for preparing the policy strategy. This type of study is part of electoral sociology.
One of the most widespread political problems is the lack of interest from a sector of the electorate.
This situation highlights the abstention rates in elections. In order to try to animate those who are not interested in voting, what we are trying to do is to mobilize the electorate through strategies with social networks and create other mechanisms for participation .
In journalism , some expressions are used to refer to this sector of society : “The electorate punishes the left” or “There is a distance between the electorate and the politicians”.
Election campaigns promote polls and there is a very important data to be highlighted: the percentage of people undecided when voting for one party or another. Political parties know that it is important to address this sector of the electorate, as the final decision of an election may depend on those undecided so far.
