When Do Voters See Fraud? Evaluating the Effects of Poll Supervision on Perceptions of Integrity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6435264 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fanisi Mbozi (0009-0006-5298-2220, New York University Abu Dhabi, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-41 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Experimental Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2052-2630 • E-ISSN: 2052-2649 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/xps.2024.5 |
| OpenAlex | W4401155325 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
What shapes voter perceptions of election outcomes? Recent disputes in Malawi and Kenya highlight the vulnerability of local vote counts to accusations of malfeasance, which often generate negative public perceptions of vote reliability. Election monitoring in these countries is thought to crucially affect both the quality of the election and voters’ perceptions of the same. To date, most research on this topic has focused on the effect of non-partisan electoral observers. However, in many countries, two other interest groups also monitor the vote-counting process: political party agents and government election officials. Does the presence of these actors also affect voter perceptions of election integrity? To answer this question, I conducted a conjoint experiment in Malawi and Kenya in which voters evaluate the reliability of vote counts from hypothetical polling stations where the presence of party agents, non-partisan observers, and election officials is varied. I find that the presence of each of these groups does indeed shape voter perceptions: voters are more likely to view vote counts as reliable when they are co-signed by a party agent, election official, or non-partisan observer. Further, these preferences persist regardless of the voters’ own party affiliation or trust in electoral institutions
Affect (linguistics · Ballot · Government (linguistics · Perception · Political science · Politics · Polling · Public relations · Voting · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Psychology
Beyond Power Calculations
Losers' Consent
Building Confidence in Elections
Election-Day Experiences and Evaluations of Electoral Integrity in Unconsolidated Democracies
The Effect of Conspiratorial Thinking and Motivated Reasoning on Belief in Election Fraud
Causal Inference in Conjoint Analysis
Information and Self-Enforcing Democracy
Who's There? Election Observer Identity and the Local Credibility of Elections
Public Distrust in Disputed Elections
Political Orientation, Information and Perceptions of Election Fraud
Electoral Fraud or Violence
Electoralfraud
Trust in elections and the institutional design of electoral authorities
The localmwananchihas lost trust
Popular evaluations of election quality in Africa
Partisanship in non-partisan electoral agencies and democratic compliance
Partisan losers' effects
The cost of exposing cheating
Partisan Poll Watchers and Electoral Manipulation
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |