國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

 Based on the experiences of various democratic countries from 1945 to 2019, this study investigates the effects of different presidential electoral systems (the plurality system and the first and second rounds of the runoff system) and constitutional systems (presidential and semi-presidential systems), respectively, on voter turnout in presidential elections. Furthermore, it explores the differences in voter turnout under different combinations of constitutional and presidential electoral systems. The research findings are as follows. First, regarding presidential electoral systems, voter turnout is the highest under the plurality system, the second highest in the first round of the runoff system, and the lowest in the second round of the runoff system. Second, regarding constitutional systems, although in theory voter turnout is higher under the presidential system and lower under the semi-presidential system, this pattern is not found in our research model. This result suggests that presidential electoral systems have a more significant effect than constitutional systems on voter turnout. Third, regarding the combination of presidential electoral and constitutional systems, by observing the presidential and semi-presidential countries separately, it is evident that voter turnout is the highest under the plurality system, the second highest in the first round of the runoff system, and the lowest in the second round of the runoff system under both of the constitutional systems.