Revisiting the Lavender Vote

Abstract

Existing research suggests that sexual minorities are more likely to vote for parties on the political left, arguably because these parties more closely align with the demands of LGB communities. We add nuance to the Lavender Vote in an analysis of partisan voting behavior in Western Europe. While the leftward pattern of voting holds, we show that sexual minorities are similar to heterosexuals in support for Far Left, Center Left, Liberal, Center Right, and Far Right parties. We find that Greens draw disproportionate levels of support from sexual minorities when compared to their competition on the left and right, suggestive of Greens’ appeals to LGB communities. Furthermore, comparable proportions of Far Left, Center Left, Liberal, Center Right, and Far Right voters are sexual minorities. Sexual minorities from across the political spectrum are coming out. Overall, our results raise important questions about the appeal of the political left among sexual minorities.