Popular elections – a Bertelsmann Stiftung study on the federal elections

The Bertelsmann Stiftung study, prepared in close cooperation with SINUS, examined voter turnout and voting behavior of the SINUS-Milieus in the 2017 federal elections by combining an aggregate analysis based on small-scale voting districts with the results of a representative post-election survey that is also milieu-specific.

The study revealed that for the first time in two decades, the social divide in voter turnout had noticeably narrowed in a federal election. At the same time, however, the election results revealed a new line of conflict: that between modernization skeptics and proponents. This division could continue to shape political disputes and election results in the future.