Replication Data for: The Effect of Electoral Systems on Voter Turnout: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

I exploit the unique institutional framework of Spanish local elections, where municipalities follow different electoral systems depending on their population size, as mandated by a national law. Using a regression discontinuity design, I compare turnout under closed list proportional representation and under an open list, plurality-at-large system where voters can vote for individual candidates from the same or different party lists. I find that the open list system increases turnout by between one and two percentage points. The results suggest that open list systems, which introduce competition both across and within parties, are conducive to more voter turnout.