Variance in electoral turnout among immigrants may lead to certain groups being systematically under or over-represented in political decision-making. Voting is a valuable indicator of integration in civic life, and the project casts new light on the dynamics of immigrant electoral participation and its implications for the health of democracy. Sweden – which enfranchises all over-18s in local and regional elections after three years of residence, and has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the EU – features as a case study.

The talk presented the current Swedish Research Council project of the same name, outlining preliminary findings and planned research activities. For the first time, register-data on the whole electorate from three consecutive elections (2018-26) allows the investigation of long-term bases of immigrant electoral turnout. The project delves deeper into the heterogeneity of political resocialisation, examining the links between ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ through interviews and focus groups, and examines whether the election of foreign-born public representatives increases the turnout of immigrant voters. Third, it looks at the facilitating and inhibiting factors to immigrants’ participation, through extensive focus groups with key groups of voters.