15. März 2026

Foto: SWR1

Sunshine on Election Day = Higher Voter Turnout? On 15 March 2026 on SWR1 “Sonntagmorgen,” Jessica Haak discusses with Christian Rönspies how the weather might have influenced voter turnout in the state election in Baden-Württemberg and provides insight into research on extreme weather events and elections.

“The relationship between weather and elections has been studied for decades,” says Jessica Haak of the University of Hamburg. However, she notes that the weather is only one of many factors affecting voter turnout. The long-term increase in the proportion of voters casting absentee ballots suggests that the weather has only limited influence. According to the election commissioner, around two million people requested absentee voting materials for the state election in Baden-Württemberg—roughly one in four voters.

Research also suggests that extreme weather events can have an impact. “Generally speaking, it can be said that due to climate change, extreme weather events have increased in both frequency and intensity,” says Haak. For this reason, there has been increased research in recent years into whether and how extreme weather events influence people’s voting behavior. Several studies have now been conducted on this topic.

Listen here to the interview with Jessica Haak and Christian Rönspeis from SWR1’s “Sonntagmorgen” in German