ABSTRACT
This chapter expresses that differential turnout between some communities has been a major factor shaping nationalist and unionist political fortunes, particularly since the 1990s. It outlines the two major explanations - individual and structural - that have been advanced for electoral participation, whose components are grouped under some headings. The chapter focuses on the surveys to examine the link between religion and party support. It discusses the survey evidence to aspects of the some major possible explanations. The chapter considers a multivariate analysis to evaluate their relative importance. It assesses the influence of differential turnout to party change in Northern Ireland over the past three decades. Traditionally, electoral participation in Northern Ireland has been higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom (UK), but it has also varied by the type of election, and by religious community. Indeed, differential turnout between some communities has been a distinctive feature of electoral competition in Northern Ireland.
