Investigating the link between voting patterns and environmental beliefs in Malta's general elections

Abstract

Voting in Western democratic city states has been on the decline for the last several decades. There once was a time where Malta appeared immune to such trends, with near-universal voter turnout far surpassing even nations with mandatory voting. However, the last several election cycles have seen a sharp decline in turnout. At the same time, environmental issues and concerns have been on the rise, with metrics such as the Eurobarometer signifying high levels of concern among the population. Although voting and political issues have been the subject of extensive study, especially with regards to socio-economic perspectives, the literature pertaining to investigating voting behaviour as it relates to environmental issues remains limited, while such work in the local context appears to be non-existent. This study collected data from the Maltese voting population on their voting behaviour and environmental beliefs through the means of an online survey shared through social media. The data obtained was then analysed through statistical correlation tests and regression models. Several methods of improvements are proposed, including improving the generalisability of the findings, which was compromised due to limitations outlined in the methodology.