Whether someone votes in Germany depends on where they live, who their friends are and whether politics are discussed in their family. The typical nonvoter doesn’t view voting as a civic duty, lives in disadvantaged neighborhoods, is young and is just as apolitical as those in his or her environment. The protesting “Party of Nonvoters” is a myth: Political indifference, rather than disenchantment with democracy, explains why people from social strata with lower levels of income and education participate in politics less. Germany is becoming a socially devided democracy.
