Abstract
AbstractHow do voters sort within an electoral coalition? Voting literatures on ideology, character valence, and issue ownership provide explanations for inter-coalition or inter-party voting, yet the coalition context remains understudied. Do voters in proportional coalition-based systems use the same ideological and issue-based heuristics ascribed to them in two-party systems that favor single-party government? Voting behavior in Italy in the 2000s is used to explore this question. This paper examines what motivates the voters of the large center-left and center-right coalitions, specifically whether ideology, economic issues, or other considerations lead voters to select their party of choice. Results indicate that, on average, voters select a coalition ideologically-proximal and deemed the more competent on issues, while they select a specific party based upon character and reputation issues. Findings thus suggest that voters sort for both coalition and party-specific reasons.
Highlights
The decision criterion that voters use to select their preferred party has been a fundamental question challenging political scientists for over a half-century
This study suggests that within coalition contexts, voters can use the same heuristics of ideology, character, and issue-voting used in simpler systems
Evidence of factors motivating a center-left vote in 2001 includes ideology and the belief that the left is best at managing the economy
Summary
The decision criterion that voters use to select their preferred party has been a fundamental question challenging political scientists for over a half-century. In proportional multiparty government systems, current theories do not have the explanatory power of smaller party systems. It has been thought that the complexities involved with post-election government formation are too difficult for voters to accurately evaluate; as such, voting in proportional systems is considered fundamentally different (Downs, 1957). Pre-electoral coalitions, provide parties the opportunity to signal to voters how the government formation process will proceed. Even though of 292 elections in 20 countries, 44% included such arrangements, how voters behave in such contexts, has not yet been extensively researched (Golder, 2005; Gschwend et al, 2017; Plescia, 2017b). Recently has research questioned if ‘Coalitions [are] just a sum of their parties’? (Plescia and Aichholzer, 2017: 255)
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