Socioeconomic bias in voting for the Knesset

This study examines whether the large decrease in voter turnout (20 percentage points) between the elections for the 14th Knesset in 1996 and the 17th Knesset in 2006 was differential by socioeconomic class. The study reveals that the electoral participation rate during the last decade declined commensurate with the level of socioeconomic ranking in 1996. This is in addition to the socioeconomic bias that was found in each of the four elections that were examined. An increase in socioeconomic bias was found between voting for the 14th Knesset elections in 1996 and the 17th Knesset elections in 2006, when it was measured by comparing municipalities in terms of the extent of the decrease in voter turnout by the average level of income in previous elections. Moreover, the decrease in voter turnout was greater in municipalities that experienced a lower economic growth rate between 1996 and 2006 (in Jewish municipalities).