Conditions of proximity and directional voting: Voter sophistication, political information, and party identification

Abstract

This paper contributes to the debate among supporters of the proximity and the directional models of vote choice. It provides a two-fold contribution: first, I utilize a series of critical tests which allow for a straightforward identification of proximity and directional voters and the aggregation of the respective shares at the party, election, and country levels. Secondly, I focus on the reasons which reinforce these alternative or complimentary models. In comparison to the standard proximity model, directional voters are less educated and less informed. They are also more likely to select opposition parties and favor actors with somewhat unclear ideological platforms. At the election level, directional voting is also driven by party system polarization.