Voice of the Inhabitants 2007

The survey focused on studying the possible causes of the declining voter turnout in municipal elections (local government elections) in Finland. First, the respondents were asked how interested they were in local affairs and local government policies, how actively did they follow local affairs and decision-making, and how well they knew what was happening. The respondents were also asked to grade their municipality of residence from different viewpoints (e.g. finances, services, employment situation, local democracy, citizen participation and influence). One question surveyed how much real power certain bodies, e.g. the mayor/municipal manager, top officials, municipal board, banks, trade unions, have in the municipality. Further questions covered information sources on local affairs and decision-making, and the sufficiency and quality of information received. The respondents were asked to evaluate how effective certain ways of trying to influence decision-making were (e.g. voting in municipal elections, inhabitant surveys, local referendums, peaceful demonstrations, signing petitions, direct contacts to decision-makers). The respondents were also asked whether they felt they could influence decisions affecting their neighbourhood, municipality, Finland or the EU. Opinions on the causes of the decline in turnout were charted. Causes mentioned included distrust of politics and parties, protest against current policies, feeling that voting has no impact on policies, lack of choice because parties too similar etc. The respondents were asked whether they were stable or volatile voters, whether they had voted in the last Finnish parliamentary elections, local government elections, and European Parliament elections, and whether there had been changes in their voting activity. Further questions covered the respondents' participation in civil and voluntary organisations and in local affairs. Opinions were probed on whether Internet voting would influence turnout, and which factors might increase or decrease citizen participation in local government. The respondents were also asked whether they held or had held any elected offices and to what extent they agreed with a number of statements relating to political parties and local government politics. Background variables included the respondent's gender, age group, number of inhabitants in the municipality, region of residence (NUTS3), basic and vocational education, type of neighbourhood, economic activity and occupational status, and what political party R would vote for if the Finnish parliamentary elections were held at that time.

本研究聚焦于探究芬兰地方（市政）选举中选民投票率下降的可能原因。首先，受访者被询问其对地方事务及地方政务政策的兴趣程度，他们参与地方事务和决策的积极性，以及他们对地方发生事件的了解程度。受访者还被要求从不同角度（例如：财政、服务、就业状况、地方民主、公民参与及影响力）对居住的市政进行评级。其中一项问题调查了某些机构（例如：市长/市政经理、高级官员、市政委员会、银行、工会）在市政中拥有的实际权力。进一步的问题涵盖了地方事务和决策的信息来源，以及接收信息的充分性和质量。受访者还被询问评估某些试图影响决策的方式的有效性（例如：市政选举投票、居民调查、地方公投、和平示威、签署请愿书、直接联系决策者）。受访者还被询问是否认为自己能够影响影响其邻里、市政、芬兰或欧盟的决策。关于投票率下降原因的意见也被记录在案。提到的原因包括对政治和政党的不信任、对现行政策的抗议、认为投票对政策无影响、由于政党相似性不足等缺乏选择。受访者还被询问他们是否为稳定或易变的选民，是否在最近的芬兰议会选举、地方政府选举和欧洲议会选举中投票，以及他们的投票活动是否有所变化。进一步的问题涵盖了受访者参与公民和志愿者组织以及地方事务的情况。关于互联网投票是否会影响投票率的意见也被探讨，以及哪些因素可能会增加或减少公民对地方政务的参与。受访者还被询问他们是否曾担任或正在担任任何选举职务，以及他们对与政党及地方政务政治相关的一系列陈述的赞同程度。背景变量包括受访者的性别、年龄组、市政人口数量、居住区域（NUTS3）、基础和职业教育、邻里类型、经济活动和职业状况，以及如果当时举行芬兰议会选举，受访者将投票给哪个政党。