PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to show the influence of electoral participation on the civil society in Poland, based on the example of the West Pomeranian voivodeship.MethodologyIn the paper different views on civil society are expressed. Special attention is given to the two main electoral systems and attendance in a number of Polish elections. In the last part of the paper the researches discuss the conference entitled “Man and business in a civil society”.FindingsThere are two main conclusions. Firstly, electoral participation is one of the elements of a modern civil society. Secondly, the attendance in the West Pomeranian voivodeship is lower in comparison to the attendance in the whole of Poland.OriginalityThe value of the paper is the analysis of the research results on the attendance during Polish elections and presenting these general research studies in comparison to studies that were conducted among 32 respondents – the participants of the above-mentioned conference.