How Voting Systems Affect Voter Satisfaction
Thursday, August 1, 2024 at 4:00PM ET
How does the way we vote affect participation at the polls?
Amid low voter turnout and concerns about the representativeness of plurality voting, advocates of alternative voting systems promote these to improve participation in elections. Past work in this area has focused primarily on whether alternative voting systems result in different electoral outcomes due to changes in candidate choice alone. If the introduction of new systems increases the cognitive effort required to vote, however, there may be other unintended consequences such as decreased turnout if voters perceive participation to be too burdensome. As a result, different voting systems may lead not only to different vote choices, but also differing perceptions of electoral representativeness and the worthwhileness of turning out among voters as well.
In this study, we employ a novel online survey experiment to test the effects of alternative voting systems on voter participation. We examine how different voting systems may impact candidate choice in primary elections, moderate the effect of knowledge about electoral systems on voting behavior, and shape attitudes about elections and satisfaction with democracy. This study contributes new insights into the various and nuanced ways in which voting structures contribute to critical democratic outcomes. This research also has practical implications for policymakers and advocacy groups in advancing our understanding of how voting systems can importantly influence elections, voting behavior, and representation at large, which is particularly relevant during a time when democracy is being questioned and concerns of voter disengagement have grown exponentially.
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Raquel Centeno is a Ph.D. candidate in theĀ Political Science and International Relations department at the University of Southern California. She specializes in public opinion, political psychology, and political behavior, and her dissertation focuses on how partisan and racial group identities together influence partisan polarization.Ā Her other research is motivated by questions of how voters' various group identities impact their political perceptions and behavior, such as howĀ different voting and primary systems influence turnout across racial and ethnic subgroups.
Dr. Tom Jamieson is a Lecturer in Political Communication at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington. He studies the relationship between information, public opinion and policymaking, especially during periods of crisis. His work examines some fundamental questions about democratic politics, including whether people can make informed decisions at the ballot box, and how to overcome myopia in political decision-making.
Dr. Whitney Hua is the Director of Applied Data and Research at The Center for Election Science. She earned her PhD in Political Science at the University of Southern California, specializing in advanced research methods, U.S. campaigns and elections, race and ethnic politics, and political communication. She is a prior recipient of a Dirksen Congressional Center Research Grant and Malcolm Jewell Award for her graduate work on strategic emotive rhetoric in congressional messaging online.
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