When institutions and issues change, voting changes
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Richard ROSE (ed.), How referendums challenge European democracy : Brexit and beyond, Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics, London : Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, pp. 77-99
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MCALLISTER, Ian, ROSE, Richard, When institutions and issues change, voting changes, in Richard ROSE (ed.), How referendums challenge European democracy : Brexit and beyond, Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics, London : Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, pp. 77-99 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/67355
Abstract
Voting behaviour is about how individuals cast ballots, but elections differ in the political issues that are at stake: control of government or making a decision about a major issue of policy. Electoral institutions also differ in how they translate votes into victory for one side or the other (Rose 1974: 9). The institutional differences between a referendum and a parliamentary election are categorical. In a referendum, an individual is asked to make a choice about an issue, and the outcome is a politically binding decision in favour of the policy that wins an absolute majority. By contrast, in a British parliamentary election, an individual votes for a party candidate; the outcome is then translated into MPs’ seats, and the outcome is that the party with the most seats gains control of government.