Casting ballots when knowing results

Araújo, V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5392-5646 and Gatto, M. A.C. (2022) Casting ballots when knowing results. British Journal of Political Science, 52 (4). pp. 1709-1727. ISSN 1469-2112 doi: 10.1017/S000712342100034X

Abstract/Summary

Access to information about candidates' performance has long stood as a key factor shaping voter behaviour, but establishing how it impacts behaviour in real-world settings has remained challenging. In the 2018 Brazilian presidential elections, unpredictable technical glitches caused by the implementation of biometrics as a form of identification led some voters to cast ballots after official tallies started being announced. In addition to providing a source of exogenous variation of information exposure, run-off elections also enable us to distinguish between different mechanisms underlying the impact of information exposure. We find strong support for a vote-switching bandwagon effect: information exposure motivates voters to abandon losing candidates and switch support for the frontrunner – a finding that stands in the second round, when only two candidates compete against each other. These findings provide theoretical nuance and stronger empirical support for the mechanisms underpinning the impact of information exposure on voter behaviour.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114814
Identification Number/DOI	10.1017/S000712342100034X
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Politics and International Relations
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
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