Abstract
One of the most fundamental rights that representative democracies bestow on their members is the active right to vote. This right is also referred to as the suffrage or franchise. It entitles its bearers to shape political decision making and to influence the development of the polity according to their interests and preferences. Their influence may be direct, if members of the polity participate in referenda to decide on questions of common concern. Most frequently, however, citizens influence political developments indirectly by casting votes in competitive elections. They choose the parties or individual political representatives who compose the parliament or government for the next electoral term, who will adopt public policies and decide how public resources will be spent.
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© 2015 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
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Sánchez Gassen, N. (2015). Introduction. In: Germany’s future electors. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-06942-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-06942-1_1
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