Participation: Great unknown
How many Europeans of the some 400 million potential voters will go to the polls between 22 and 25 May? That is the great unknown at the 100-day mark. Precise transnational polls will not be available for analysis until early May. A second European survey is set to take place just before 25 May. In 2009, at 43.4%, voter turnout dropped to its lowest level ever since the introduction of direct universal suffrage in 1979. Once election fever had subsided, though, some slightly cynical MEPs had no real complaints about the low participation. Some even pointed out that voter turnout in the United States was never very high. That is true for the election of Congress (46.1% in 2002 and 45.5% in 2010) but not for presidential elections (between 59.5% and 63.8% participation from 2000 to 2013).
Election evening step-by-step
Although everything will play out in the 28 member states, election evening will take place at the European Parliament in Brussels, on 25 May.
At 21:00, the consolidated European voter participation rate will be announced.
At 22:00, the first projections for the new Parliament will be unveiled based on pre-election polls. The quality of these findings will nevertheless be subject to caution because the compilation will include data from surveys conducted two weeks before the elections (due to legal restrictions in several member states).
At 22:20, a more reliable compilation of exit poll results will give a more accurate picture.