Pre-electoral coalitions and voter turnout
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6315684 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erik R Tillman (DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 726-737 |
| Publication date | 2015-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Party Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1354-0688 • E-ISSN: 1460-3683 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1354068813499868 |
| OpenAlex | W2121740068 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 47 |
Research on comparative voter turnout has produced a puzzling set of findings: proportional representation (PR) electoral systems increase turnout, but multiparty systems decrease turnout. This paper provides new evidence to resolve these conflicting findings by developing and testing the hypothesis that the presence of a pre-electoral coalition (PEC) increases voter turnout by reducing uncertainty about the possible government that will form after the election. PECs provide credible signals to voters about the commitment of participating parties to govern together, making the election more decisive as a mechanism for selecting the government by clarifying the possible electoral outcomes. This increased electoral decisiveness increases voters' incentives to turn out. This hypothesis is tested on a data set of 223 national legislative elections in 19 parliamentary democracies between 1970 and 2002, with the results indicating that the presence of a PEC increases turnout on average by more than 1.5 percentage points. This finding provides support for the argument that the electoral context and strategic party behavior have important effects on voter participation
Argument (complex analysis · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Economics · Government (linguistics · Incentive · Legislature · Microeconomics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Proportional representation · Public economics · Representation (politics · Turnout · Voter turnout · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Party system types and the decline of systemness in Western Europe
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Voter disengagement and dissatisfaction under Japan’s mixed electoral system
Who is responsible? The effect of clarity of responsibility on voter turnout
Normative Balance and Electoral Reform
Patterns of accountability and representation
Four Visions of Democracy
What are we voting for? Opposition alliance joint campaigns in electoral autocracies
Maintaining Partisan ties
How do mayors get elected? The causal effects of pre-electoral coalitions on mayoral election outcomes in Indonesia
New normal” no more
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How do coalition signals shape voting behavior? Revealing the mediating role of coalition expectations
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Dirty Pool
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Polls, coalition signals and strategic voting
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Economic Judgments, Party Choice, and Voter Abstention in Cross-National Perspective
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Voter Turnout in the Industrial Democracies during the 1980s
The Impact of Proportional Representation on Turnout
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Constraints on Cabinet Formation in Parliamentary Democracies
Government Formation in Parliamentary Democracies
Explaining Voter Turnout in Latin America, 1980 to 2000
Proportionality, disproportionality and electoral systems
Disengaging voters
Why can voters anticipate post-election coalition formation likelihoods
Competition & turnout
Democratic electoral systems around the world, 1946-2000
When Moderate Voters Prefer Extreme Parties
The Myth of the Vanishing Voter
Political Institutions and Satisfaction with Democracy
Unequal Participation
Political Institutions and Voter Turnout in the Industrial Democracies
Coalition-directed Voting in Multiparty Democracies
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| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,18 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |