Mock Election Research Articles

How to talk about politics without killing each other

In 1968, I voted in my first U.S. presidential election, Nixon v. Humphrey. I was 10 years old and in fifth grade. We held a mock election in our class. Just before the actual election date, we had a luncheon for our parents and other guests. I cut the cake; I thought I was something. I remember very well serving my mother a piece of chocolate cake. I’ve always associated those two events fondly.

When everyone is corrupt, no one is? Examining the effects of widespread corruption on electoral behavior*

ABSTRACT Corruption scandals can be costly for elected officials seeking re-election. But what happens when the other candidate alternatives are also known to be corrupt? Do voters downplay the importance of corruption in their vote decision when corruption is widespread? Also, how does it affect their engagement with the electoral process? Are voters more likely to abstain or cast null or blank votes when presented with corrupt candidates? In this paper, we contribute to a flourishing literature that focuses on the importance of clean electoral alternatives to tackle these questions. We do so by adopting an innovative vignette experiment that we apply to a large sample of adult Brazilians where we manipulate the availability of candidate alternatives in a mock election. We find that as the availability of honest candidate alternatives decreases, the lower the electoral engagement and the importance given to corruption on vote choice.

Can Participation in Mock Elections Boost Civic Competence among Students?

Mock elections are an increasingly popular form of active learning, adopted in many European countries and the United States. However, we have limited knowledge regarding the extent to which they enhance students’ civic competence. This article analyzes data from over 9,000 students aged 13-19 who participated in a 2022 mock election in Sweden. The goal is to determine the extent to which mock elections boost civic competence, with an emphasis on potential variations related to gender, ethnic background, and educational stage. Results indicate that such participation positively influences students’ self-reported political knowledge and, to a lesser extent, their political interest, engagement, and efficacy. Yet, the impact varies among student demographics. For instance, foreign-born students reported greater effects than their Swedish-born counterparts. Female students displayed heightened political knowledge and interest compared to males, while male students demonstrated higher political engagement. Interestingly, mock elections seemed to enhance political knowledge more in primary school students than in secondary school ones. Conversely, they had a more pronounced impact on the political interests and engagement of secondary school students. The study concludes with suggestions for future research to employ more rigorous methods to assess the influence of mock elections on civic competencies.

Headlines win elections: Mere exposure to fictitious news media alters voting behavior.

Repeatedly encountering a stimulus biases the observer's affective response and evaluation of the stimuli. Here we provide evidence for a causal link between mere exposure to fictitious news reports and subsequent voting behavior. In four pre-registered online experiments, participants browsed through newspaper webpages and were tacitly exposed to names of fictitious politicians. Exposure predicted voting behavior in a subsequent mock election, with a consistent preference for frequent over infrequent names, except when news items were decidedly negative. Follow-up analyses indicated that mere media presence fuels implicit personality theories regarding a candidate's vigor in political contexts. News outlets should therefore be mindful to cover political candidates as evenly as possible.

How to Vote Correctly

The concept of correct voting, which refers to a vote that is the same one that would have been made under conditions of full information, has been used to evaluate citizens' voting decisions in various settings. Most studies either focus on determining individual and situational predictors of correct voting or determining the correctness of voting via heuristics. Since heuristics can lead to better decision outcomes than systematic processes, the goal of this study was to analyze how different modes of decision-making strategies, as well as individual and situational characteristics, contribute to correct voting. To answer this question, an experiment was conducted in Croatia, a previously unstudied context for correct voting, in which participants gathered information on four parties in a mock election campaign. Results showed that higher political motivation and usage of compensatory decision-making strategies had a positive impact on the probability of casting a correct vote. However, direct effect of cognitive load was found for participants with low levels of political motivation, for which an increase in cognitive load resulted in 25% less probability of voting correctly.

Voter Verification of Ballot Marking Device Ballots Is a Two-Part Question: Can They? Mostly, They Can. Do They? Mostly, They Don't

The question of whether or not voters actually verify ballots produced by ballot marking devices (BMDs) is presently the subject of some controversy. Recent studies (e.g., Bernhard et al. 2020) suggest the verification rate is low. It is unclear if this is because voters cannot do this accurately or whether it is because voters simply choose not to attempt verification in the first place. In order to answer this question, we conducted an experiment in which 108 participants participated in a mock election where the BMD displayed the voters' true choices, but then changed a subset of those choices on the printed ballot. The design of the printed ballot, its length, the number and location of changes that were made to the ballot, and the instructions provided to the voters were manipulated as part of the experiment. Results indicated that of those voters who chose to examine the printed ballot, 76% detected anomalies, indicating that voters can reliably detect errors on their ballot if they simply review it. This suggests that administrative remedies, rather than attempts to alter fundamental human perceptual capabilities, could be employed to encourage voters to check their ballots, which could prove as an effective countermeasure.

Media Effects in the Viewer’s Choice Era: Testing Revised Agenda-Setting and Priming Hypotheses

ABSTRACT One of the not-so-minimal effects of media exposure is the ability of the media to set the agenda for political discussion and debate, to tell voters what to think about, if not what to think. Most experimental studies of agenda-setting probably over-estimate its actual effects, however, by forcing exposure to a story on some particular topic – an especially unrealistic setting in today’s viewer’s choice media environment. We avoid this problem by exploring agenda-setting and priming in a more realistic campaign environment, a 10-wave panel study where we randomly varied the opportunity to learn particular policy stands from competing gubernatorial, House, and Senate candidates in a mock off-year election campaign. We find correlational evidence that explicit attention to stories about a particular political issue is associated with greater perceived importance of that issue, but random assignment of exposure to such stories has no causal effect on perceived importance. We find weak evidence that agenda-setting is limited to in-party partisans.

The origins of information processing preferences in politics: Examining parental influence

Cognitive motivations (e.g., need for cognition and need to evaluate) and decision strategies (e.g., rational choice vs. heuristic-based) importantly shape political understanding, evaluations, and vote choice. Despite the importance of these cognitive factors, few studies have examined their origins. Adopting an exploratory framework with a primary focus on parental influence, we uniquely address this research gap by identifying potential pathways through which parents can affect this development. Using a convenience sample of college students who participated in a 10-week panel study with their parents, we reveal that, unlike many other political characteristics, there is little parent-child similarity in cognitive motivations and decision strategies. We, however, find some similarity in the information search behaviors parents and children exhibit during the mock election campaign. The findings highlight the need to further investigate not only additional parenting behaviors, but also the socializing role of the information environment itself.

Are 16-year-olds able to cast a congruent vote? Evidence from a “voting at 16” initiative in the city of Ghent (Belgium)

An often used argument against lowering the voting age to the age of 16 is that this age group would lack a sufficiently high level of “political maturity” and therefore would not be able to cast a vote that is in line with their political opinions. In this paper, we use a unique initiative set up by the city of Ghent (Belgium) to invite 16- and 17-year-olds to take part in a mock election to investigate whether adolescents are able to cast an ideologically congruent or “correct” vote. Our results do not show differences in proximity voting between adolescents and adult respondents. Furthermore, we find no evidence of socio-economic stratification in the extent to which adolescents cast a congruent vote. Our conclusion, therefore, is that this recurrent argument against lowering the voting age lacks empirical validity.

Practice makes voters? Effects of student mock elections on turnout

Student mock elections are conducted in schools around the world in an effort to increase political interest and efficacy among students. There is, however, a lack of research on whether mock elections in schools enhance voter turnout in real elections. In this article, we examine whether the propensity to vote in Swedish elections is higher among young people who have previously experienced a student mock election. The analysis is based on unique administrative population-wide data on turnout in the Swedish 2010 parliamentary election and the 2009 European Parliament election. Our results show that having experienced a mock election as a student does not increase the likelihood of voting in subsequent real elections. This result holds when we study both short- and long-term effects, and when we divide our sample into different parts depending on their socio-economic status and study each part separately.

"Am I a Politics Person?" A Qualitative Study of Students' Perspectives on Mock Elections as Political Education.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine mock elections as political education in school, taking the Norwegian case as an empirical example.Methodology: This study’s qualitative content analysis is based on data collected through fieldwork in five upper secondary schools in the Western region of Norway, through observations and in 18 ordinary language interviews with 18-year-old students in the 3rd grade.Findings and implications: In the mock elections at Norwegian schools, the students meet and interact with three different identities of political participation: ‘the politician’, ‘the party member’ and ‘the voter’. How do the students use the mock election (ME) to shape their conceptions of their political selves? The interview data shows that the students who are active members of political parties accept the three analytical categories of political identities, and the students who are not members of political parties, reject ‘the politician’, but accept ‘the party member’ as part of their peer group. Finally, the MEs simulate an ordinary election and offer a norm of voting which the students accept as a school assignment. The students vote in the mock election because they are told to do so and generally do not view voting in the mock elections as a way of expressing the voice of their generation.

Bridging a Polarizing Divide: Election Simulation in an AP Government Course

This article reports on a study that asks how might an elections simulation influence students with strong polarizing political beliefs? The elections simulation asks students to take on roles as candidate teams, political party leaders, interest groups, and media outlets in a mock presidential election. Students not only learn about elections but also political socialization, public opinion, political ideology, and the two-party system. Findings show that the elections simulations provided students with the opportunity to try out and engage with political perspectives that were different from their own. Even though the students’ political stances did not change drastically at the end of the simulation, they reported understanding the two-party system better and can respect other perspectives more because of the simulation. This means that election simulations may help young people become more moderate (or less polarized) in their political opinions without diminishing their proclivities for active participation.

초등학교 모의 선거 교육 프로그램 개발 및 효과

본 연구는 초등학생을 위한 학교 선거 교육의 방안으로 모의 선거 교육 프로그램을 개발하는 데 목적이 있다. 이를 위해 초등학교 5학년 학생들을 대상으로 제7회 전국동시지방선거일 전후에 실시할 수 있는 모의 선거 교육 프로그램을 개발하고 그 효과를 확인하였다. 프로그램은 총 4차시로, 크게 지방선거에 대한 이해, 후보자 및 공약 분석, 모의 선거, 모의 선거와 실제 선거 결과 비교로 구성되었다. 본 프로그램을 서울 A초등학교 5학년 학생 80명에게 실시하였다. 프로그램 효과를 알아보기 위해 프로그램에 참여한 학생들을 실험집단, 인접한 학교 5학년 학생 44명을 통제집단으로 하여 두 집단을 대상으로 양적 분석을 하였다. 또한, 프로그램에 참여한 교사와 학생의 면담 자료, 소감문 등을 대상으로 질적 분석을 하였다. 그 결과, 본 프로그램은 초등학생의 지방자치단체 및 지방선거에 대한 이해, 정치 효능감, 선거 참여 의지를 신장시킬 수 있는 것으로 드러났다.

Practice Makes Voters?: Effects of Student Mock Elections on Turnout

Student mock elections are carried out in schools around the world in an effort to increase political interest and efficacy among students. There is, however, a lack of research on whether mock elections in schools enhance voter turnout in real elections. In this paper, we examine whether the propensity to vote in Swedish elections is higher among young people who have previously experienced a student mock election. The analysis is based on unique administrative population-wide data on turnout in the Swedish 2010 parliamentary election and the 2009 European Parliament election. Our results show that having experienced a mock election as a student does not increase the likelihood of voting in subsequent real elections. This result holds when we study both short- and long-term effects, and when we divide our sample into different parts depending on their socio-economic status and study each part separately.

Mock Elections in Civic Education: A Space for Critical Democratic Citizenship Development

Purpose: Preparing citizens for participation in pluralist democracies also requires a type of citizenship education that fosters critical democratic citizenship (CDC). This study inquires into an educational activity with a long history in many EU-countries: mock elections. It explores the extent to which elements of CDC-literacy, competences and identity are commonly fostered in education related to mock elections in the Netherlands, and teacher rationales in this regard. Methodology: A qualitative study was conducted. Data from semi-structured interviews with teachers from eight schools were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings and implications: Data analysis revealed an emphasis on offering a participatory experience. Five elements of critical democratic citizenship were commonly advanced in mock election related education in these schools. Teacher narratives also revealed how teachers had different understandings about political identity and their role in advancing identity development. Findings suggest that there is ample opportunity to intensify attention to CDC-development in education related to mock elections in Dutch schools. Further research into students’ political identity development processes during political simulations in different political and educational contexts is required to further academic debate about desirable support by teachers and governments in high-quality political education projects

Can Voters Tell When Their Voting Method Is Secure? Effects of End-to-end Security and Security Theater on Perceptions of Voting Systems

The aim of this study was to understand how voters’ perceptions of voting system security might be impacted by the addition of actual security features and fake security features (i.e., security theater) to a voting method. In the context of voting, positive perceptions of security might be more important than security itself because voters must feel voting systems are safe enough to keep their votes secure and anonymous, or else they might choose to avoid participating in an election—potentially impacting election outcomes. To investigate this problem, 90 Rice University undergraduate students participated in a mock election using one of three systems, each associated with differing levels of security: a standard paper ballot, a paper ballot enhanced by end-to-end (e2e) security mechanisms, and a paper ballot that included fake security mechanisms to give the feeling of enhanced security without actually making the system safer. After voting, each participant completed a survey that included questions about voting system security to understand if one system was perceived to be more secure than another. In this study, participants rated the paper voting method with advanced e2e security to be the most secure; both the traditional paper ballot and security theater ballot were found to be the least secure. In summary, the advanced security features positively impacted voters’ perceptions of system security—indicating that people accurately assessed the safety of the provided voting method. This finding is promising and suggests that during real elections, there is the potential for voters to assess accurately a system’s security and then act-on and make decisions based on this information.

Coping with lengthy ballots

Given voters' limited cognitive abilities, the learning environments voters face may have implications for how voters learn and make decisions. One prominent feature of American elections is the variation in the length of the ballot across jurisdictions and elections. This paper explores the consequences of lengthy ballots on the ability of voters to learn about candidates. Using an experimental design and a dynamic information board (Lau and Redlawsk, 2006), subjects participate in a mock election where they are asked to gather information about a single election or multiple elections. The results indicate that while voters compare more information as ballot length increases, they spend significantly less time learning about individual pieces of candidate information.

Terrorist Threat, Male Stereotypes, and Candidate Evaluations

How does the threat of terrorism affect evaluations of female (vs. male) political leaders, and do these effects vary by the politician’s partisanship? Using two national surveys, we document a propensity for the U.S. public to prefer male Republican leadership the most in times of security threat, and female Democratic leadership the least. We theorize a causal process by which terrorist threat influences the effect of stereotypes on candidate evaluations conditional on politician partisanship. We test this framework with an original experiment:a nationally representative sample was presented with a mock election that varied the threat context and the gender and partisanship of the candidates. We find that masculine stereotypes have a negative influence on both male and female Democratic candidates in good times (thus reaffirming the primacy of party stereotypes), but only on the female Democratic candidate when terror threat is primed. Republican candidates—both male and female—are unaffected by masculine stereotypes, regardless of the threat environment.

Do Voters Really Fail to Detect Changes to Their Ballots? An Investigation of Ballot Type on Voter Error Detection

Data from previous research that investigates whether or not voters fail to notice changes to their electronic ballot selections indicate that high percentages of people do not notice if their votes were altered, even after inspecting a final review screen. This paper questions if voters really do not notice changes as the previous studies found, or if the findings are an artifact of the types of races and propositions that they vote for in the experimental mock elections. Specifically, previous research studies used ballots that were comprised of fabricated candidates and propositions, which do not reflect the types of real-world issues presented on a ballot during an actual election. To investigate the issue, this study replicated the prior research, but introduced into the experiment a new type of ballot that was based on actual people and issues that the participant population was familiar with and felt was relevant to their current circumstances. Our findings reveal that the type of races presented to participants on a ballot in a mock election does not impact the ability of users to notice altered selections on a vote verification review screen. This suggests that the review screens currently implemented in electronic voting technologies might not be effective since user mistakes and potential fraud cannot be reliably identified by the voter before a vote is cast and then counted in the election tally.

Automating the News

This study investigates the impact of personalized news recommender system design on selective exposure, elaboration, and knowledge. Scholars have worried that proliferation of personalization technologies will degrade public opinion by isolating people from challenging perspectives. Informed by selective exposure research, this study examines personalized news recommender system designs using a communication mediation model. Recommender system design choices examined include computer-generated personalized recommendations, user-customized recommendations, and full or limited news information environments based on recommendations. Results from an online mock election experiment with Ohio adult Internet users indicate increased selective exposure when using personalized news systems. However, portals recommending news based on explicit user customization result in significantly higher counterattitudinal news exposure. Expected positive effects on elaboration and indirect effects on knowledge through elaboration are found only in personalized news recommender systems that display only recommended headlines. Lastly, personalized news recommender system use has a negative direct effect on knowledge.