In Spain, the national anarcho-syndicalist trade union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance, and abstention by CNT supporters led to a right wing election victory.
Those who have religious or other objections would be able abstain but they would be required to register their abstention by contacting their electoral office in advance or doing so in person at the polling station.
A faithless elector from the District of Columbia left her ballot blank to protest Washington's lack of a voting representative in Congress, an abstention that left Mr. Gore with 266 electoral votes, one fewer than he had expected.
Those in the opposition who called for abstention in past elections (claiming that the electoral authority was not impartial) have this time called on their supporters to vote, whereas in the chavista camp, there are signs of apathy.
In Singapore, non-voters are removed from the electoral register until they reapply, providing a reason for their abstention.
And the sheer size of the turnout seemed to have taken electoral authorities by surprise, with political analysts predicting that the abstention rate could fall to as low as 20percentt.
The quality of electoral participation among citizens under 18 goes beyond the reasons that drive abstention: it is the concern that voters under 18 do not choose the party that best represents their views or interests.
Chile's congressional elections last month saw both a high abstention rate and a surprisingly strong vote for the unreconstructed communists.To mount a serious electoral challenge, the left needs new ideas.
Javier Corrales, professor of political science at Amherst College, Massachusetts, said: "Depending on levels of abstention and distribution of voters, this could still allow the ruling party to achieve some important electoral victories".
"It was not at all affected by the very high rate of [electoral] abstention.
There was one abstention.
