Residential mobility and its effect on voter turnout in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract The study is aimed at assessing the effect of residential mobility on voter turnout or electoral participation, by exploring: the average distance between a polling unit and voter residence and the relationship between residential mobility and voter turnout in Alaka LSDPC Estate, Surulere Local Government Area. The study targeted a population of residents who moved into the neighborhood between 2015 to 2019 general elections, employed a hundred percent sample size, considering the marginal figure of 36 families and the sampling technique adopted was the snowballing and purposive. For data analysis, descriptive statistics were used for the average distance between a polling unit and voter residence, and ANOVA and linear regression were used to analyze the relationship between residential mobility and voter turnout. The current study found out that there is a significant relationship between residential mobility and voter turnout, as the average distance between a polling unit and a voter’s residence is greater than 20 km which implies that it is very far and inaccessible. Residential mobility indeed affects voter participation, with a P = 0.001 value and R2 value of 0.513 (51.3%). It is recommended that residential mobility be considered in electoral policies, laws, initiatives, and programs by the electoral body to ensure total inclusion.