Midterm elections have longed struggled to engage voters enough to make them take the trip to polling centers and cast their choices. This might be due to perceptions of the impact of non-presidential elections, an analyst explained.
Froilan Calilung, assistant professor of public administration at the University of Santo Tomas, said this amid an observed trend of fewer registered voters exercising their right to suffrage during midterm elections.
He said fewer people vote because they know it is the executive branch controls policy and development, which makes midterm elections less exciting.
“Kasi hindi naman nababago ‘yung presidente eh, they’re the same,” he told Interaksyon.
“As a result, they may not feel motivated to vote if they believe that the midterm [election] will not significantly alter the political landscape.”
Since 2001, midterm elections registered fewer voters than the previous presidential elections except for 2013.
The lowest voter turnout in 22 years, in contrast to the number of registered voters, was recorded in 2007, with only over 27 million voter turnout or 76.3%.
In the most recent elections in 2022, more than 55.4 million or 84.2% voted, the highest recorded since 2001.
‘Less hype’
Ronald Castillo, another political scientist and assistant professor, likewise said that midterm elections have less “hype” compared to presidential elections as the majority of the elections are focused on local positions, which are in the city and provincial levels.
He added that low political efficacy—or an individual’s belief that they can change the government—can be one of the factors in lower voter turnout in midterm elections.
“When a person has a low degree of political efficacy, then they believe that, ‘okay what I vote doesn’t really matter, it will not be able to create any change, and the government will not change at all no matter what vote I do’ then they will not go to the polls anymore,” Castillo said.
Calilung added that midterm elections are “testament elections,” showing whether or not the current administration proved something in the first three years.
“[T]he litmus test [on] whether or not the people are happy or satisfied with the way the administration turned out in the first three years will actually be seen in how they will be voting for or against the government’s slate,” he continued.
In the midterm elections, the assistant professor said that the current administration will see whether or not they possess the influence to sway the voters in the presidential elections.
“Definitely there [he] cannot run anymore, but of course, the seating president is always free to endorse somebody and from the midterm elections, we could already see whether the endorsement will materialize,” Calilung said.
The approval rating of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dipped to 53% in June from 55% in March, according to the Pulse Asia Survey. The survey was taken from June 17 to 24, with 2,400 respondents across Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Pulse Asia said that the survey had an error margin of ± 2%.
Calilung said that as the president enters his fifth year or what he calls the “lame duck phase,” people are already anticipating the next elections.
“Everybody knows his power diminishes over time and as the election year draws near,” he added.
“Midterm elections pa lang makikita na natin kung meron o kung walang aasahan doon sa would-be presidential candidate ng administration in the [2028] elections,” Calilung also said.
Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia said the poll body has processed almost six million voter registration applications since February.
According to the Comelec, the filing of candidacies is slated on October 1 to 8 while the midterm elections will happen on May 12, 2025, where 18,271 government positions are up for election.