Voting Behavior

Conceptualizing usage in voting behavior for political marketing: an application of consumer behavior

by Tiffany Winchester

Co-authored with Prof John Hall and Associate Prof Wayne Binney. Forthcoming presentation at Political Spaces in Eurasia: Global Contexts, Local Outcomes, Ralph and Ruth Fisher Forum, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, June 13-15, 2012

Political Marketing has borrowed and adapted many terms from mainstream marketing, such as image management... more Political Marketing has borrowed and adapted many terms from mainstream marketing, such as image management (positioning and branding) and consumer (voter). In marketing, the terms ‘brand user’ and ‘usage’ have been established, yet its application to the political marketing is less clear. This paper analyzes the feasibility and usefulness of usage in the political context. Drawing from the literature on brand usage, a model is developed and applied to two voting systems: the Australian compulsory and the Russian non-compulsory. A critical factor that emerges is the concept of choice, whereby the voter may chose to indicate their preference for one party, yet be forced to use a different party as chosen by collective choice. It is concluded that usage needs to be contextualized specifically for political marketing.

Viability of decision-making systems in human and animal groups

by Cedric Sueur

Popular initiatives in Uruguay: confidence votes on government or political loyalties?

by David Altman

[2002] Electoral Studies 21 (4): 617-630.

Among stable democracies, Uruguay is one of the most prodigious users of direct democratic devices at the national... more Among stable democracies, Uruguay is one of the most prodigious users of direct democratic devices at the national level. If we analyze the relationship between the share of “yes” votes received by any popular initiative and the share of votes received by politicians who politically supported it, we observe a strikingly high positive correlation of 0.9. Explaining this correlation is the central objective of this paper. Three alternative hypotheses are plausible: First, such a correlation could be a spurious association due to aggregation bias. Second, PI results could be reflections of economic conditions. And third, Uruguayans are extremely consistent in following their political parties’ advice. This paper finds that when Uruguayans go to the polls to vote on a popular initiative, their vote choice is primarily the result of their party loyalty, rather than their reaction to economic conditions. In testing my hypotheses I rely on the following statistical methods: King’s ‘Ecological Inference,’ multivariate regression, and path analysis. The data come from seven popular initiatives in Uruguay since 1985 (133 observations).

Partisan gerrymandering and population instability: Completing the redistricting puzzle

by Chad Murphy

Could Polls Matter? Evaluating the Preconditions for Poll Effects

by J. Scott Matthews

Co-authored with Fred Cutler and Mark Pickup

The Mediated Horserace: Campaign Polls and Poll Reporting

by J. Scott Matthews

Co-authored with Mark Pickup and Fred Cutler
Forthcoming in the Canadian Journal of Political Science

Although “horserace journalism” is thought to be central to contemporary election news coverage and has generated a... more Although “horserace journalism” is thought to be central to contemporary election news coverage and has generated a great deal of criticism, there is no general model of the nature and dynamics of horserace journalism or “poll reporting.” This paper proposes and empirically evaluates such a model. The model builds on and extends John Zaller’s “theory of media politics” to consider specifically what citizens demand from polls and what journalists supply. Aside from the generic motivations of politicians, citizens and journalists, the model emphasizes the unique features of polls as objects of news coverage. The paper finds considerable support for the model in an analysis of newspaper coverage of horserace polls (that is, vote intention polls) in the Canadian general election of 2006. Our findings from this one case have potentially broad implications for our understanding of the relationship between polls and electoral democracy both empirically and normatively.

Même si le journalisme de course (“horserace journalism”) est vu comme étant une composante centrale de la couverture électorale et qu’il a généré sa part de critiques, il n’existe pas de modèle général de la nature et de la dynamique de ce type de journalisme. Cet article propose, et évalue empiriquement, un tel modèle. Prenant comme point de départ la « Theory of Media Politics » de John Zaller, ce modèle considère plus spécifiquement ce que les citoyens demandent des sondages et ce que les journalistes leurs procurent. Au-delà des motivations génériques des politiciens, citoyens et journalistes, le modèle met l’accent sur les caractéristiques uniques des sondages en tant qu’objet de couverture journalistique. L’article présente des résultats supportant considérablement le modèle à travers une analyse de la couverture des sondages par les journaux (c’est-à-dire des sondages sur les intentions de vote) durant l’élection générale canadienne de 2006. Nos résultats émanant de ce cas ont potentiellement des implications beaucoup plus grandes pour notre compréhension de la relation entre les sondages et la démocratie électorale, à la fois sur le plan empirique et sur le plan normatif.

The Horse(race)-Drawn Media (Band)Wagon

by J. Scott Matthews

Co-authored with Mark Pickup, Blake Andrew and Fred Cutler
Presented at the AGM of the Canadian Political Science Association, 2010

Newfoundland and Labrador Votes: An Account of the Determinants of Vote Choice in the 2011 Election

by J. Scott Matthews

Co-authored with Amanda Bittner
Presented at the Newfoundland Politics and Policy Workshop (St. John's), 2011

Turnout and Competitiveness in Space and Time

by J. Scott Matthews

Co-authored with Richard Johnston and Amanda Bittner
Presented at the AGM of the Midwest Political Science Association, 2007

Who to punish? Individual decisions and majority rule in mitigating the free rider problem

by Arhan Ertan

ROLE OF ENDOGENOUSLY CHOSEN INSTITUTIONS ON MITIGATING THE FREE-RIDER PROBLEM AND REDUCING PERVERSE PUNISHMENT

by Arhan Ertan

Party Identification, Leader Effects and Vote Choice in Italy, 1990-2008

by Diego Garzia

Published in 'World Political Science Review', Volume 8, Issue 1, 2012
(co-authored with Federico Viotti)

Previous studies have portrayed the personalization of politics as a consequence of the changes in the electoral... more Previous studies have portrayed the personalization of politics as a consequence of the changes in the electoral market and the resulting transformations at the party level. However, empirical research has not reached a consensus on the extent to which this process has actually exerted its impact on citizens’ voting calculus. Partisan identifications appear still central in voters’ behavior, whereas party leader evaluations seem to play only a marginal role. This paper tries to examine the electoral consequences of the personalization of politics employing an alternative perspective. In particular, we concentrate on the role played by leader evaluations in shaping voters’ feelings of identification with parties. Our case study focuses on the Italian case, a prototype of personalized parliamentary democracy. In the empirical section, we examine the ways in which leaders have influenced Italian voters’ behavior in the last two decades. The results show that the electoral effect of party leaders (once the mediating effect of party identification is taken into account) has steadily increased during the time frame under analysis.

¿Cómo votan los que no tienen ideología?

by Álvaro Martínez Pérez

Co-authored with Lluis Orriols
Published in the Zoom Politico series 2011/05, Fundación Alternativas

El Voto Religioso en España y Portugal

by Álvaro Martínez Pérez

Co-authored with José Ramón Montero and Kerman Calvo
Published in Revista Internacional de Sociología, Vol. LXVI, nº 51, Sept-Dec 2008, 19-54

Where Next? Group Coordination and Collective Decision Making by Primates

by Cedric Sueur

Shared or Unshared Consensus for Collective Movement? Towards Methodological Concerns.

by Cedric Sueur

Reaching a Consensus: Terminology and Concepts Used in Coordination and Decision-Making Research

by Cedric Sueur

From the first intention movement to the last joiner: macaques combine mimetic rules to optimize their collective decisions

by Cedric Sueur

Stable voters in an unstable party environment: continuity and change in italian electoral behaviour

by Marco Maraffi

Electoral choice in Italy between old patterns and emerging orientations: evidence from the 2001 general election

by Marco Maraffi