Migrants away from the polls: explaining the absenteeism of people with sub-Saharan African origins in the 2022 French presidential elections

ABSTRACT

The electoral participation of migrants in the country of residence has been often investigated through the lenses of motivations, preferences, and consequences. The literature to date has paid little attention to what factors inhibit migrants from voting, which is especially important in contexts where their absenteeism is an ongoing feature. To this end, our article aims to identify why French people with origins in sub-Saharan African countries did not vote in the 2022 presidential elections. This group of migrants is particularly inactive in politics. The qualitative analysis uses semi-structured interviews and one focus group with first- and second-generation migrants from sub-Saharan African countries living in France. The findings indicate that the main reasons for their absenteeism at the 2022 presidential elections have deep roots and are unlikely to change in the near future: feelings of non-integration, limited procedural knowledge about voting, and negative attitudes towards politics and politicians.

KEYWORDS:

• Migrants
• political participation
• elections
• integration
• political knowledge
• attitudes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. French Maghrebians – people descending from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, or Egypt – were not included in the research because of the specificity of their historical evolution, the size and closeness of their communities.