When Talk Doesn’t Walk: Increasing Accessibility of Polling Stations in Polish General Elections 2023

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the January 2023 amendment to the Electoral Code on voter turnout and the electoral performance of the ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS). The analysis focuses on one specific aspect of the reform, namely the expansion in the number of polling stations. This change affected primarily rural municipalities. We investigated whether the amendment led to a measurable increase in voter turnout, and if so, whether the initiator of the reform benefited electorally from this increase, or whether the efforts proved counterproductive.