The
CEC collaborated with Professor Chuang Wen-Zhong and his research team of Shih
Hsin University to conduct a research on improving the current method for
observing the electoral engagement of genders. The research results were
presented today (January 17, 2017) at the commission meeting.
The turnout for the 14th Presidential Election and 9th Legislative Election was 66.27% and 66.30%, respectively. According to the research, the turnout of female voters was slightly higher than that of male regardless of the type of election; whether it was the Presidential, District Legislator, or Party List Proportional Representation election. On the other hand, the turnout for low land indigenous voters was 51.72%; whereas, it was 57.66% for high land indigenous voters. These numbers were 10 percent lower than that of non-indigenous voters. Studies have also shown that indigenous women vote at a higher rate of about 7-8 percent than that of indigenous man. However, when observing the data for municipalities and counties /cities, not only did the overall turnouts vary from area to area, but the comparison situation between male and female turnout also differed. Aside from the counties of Chiayi and Kinmen, where the turnout of male voters were slightly higher than that of female; otherwise, the opposite holds true. (The voting statistics of genders in all municipalities and counties /cities during the 2016 Legislative Election and 2016 Presidential Election is attached in the appendix.)
The
research results showed, during the 14th Presidential Election, the
turnout of male and female voters among 18-24 years of age was 58.8% and 65.7%,
respectively; in other words, women voted at a rate approximately 7% higher
than men. Moreover, in all age groups under 60 years old, the turnout of female
voters were all above 60% and was 3-5% higher than that of men. However, the
opposite is true for voters above 70 years of age, men vote at a rate almost 10
percent higher than women. A drastic drop in turnout was observed for voters
above 75 years old; the drop was especially apparent for female voters. (The
age-associated voting statistics of genders in all municipalities and counties
/cities during the 2016 Legislative Election and 2016 Presidential Election is
attached in the appendix.)
The
research utilized the compilation of voter lists for the 14th Presidential and
the 9th Legislative Election to generate informative files on voting statistics
.This type of data was unprecedented in domestic research on elections. In
addition, not only was this research world leading in the area of study on
voting tendencies of genders, but also a great reference material for academia
and governments to better understand the situation of voters and the conditions
that could influence turnouts. In accordance to our government’s open data
policies, the CEC of Taiwan will provide our research findings and results on
the CEC website under the premise of not releasing any personal information of
voters.