Date: 2011
Type: Article
Optimists and Skeptics: Why do people believe in the value of their single vote?
Electoral Studies, 2011, 30, 1, 77-82, Special Symposium on Electoral Democracy in the European Union[EUDO Public Opinion Observatory]
BLAIS, André, RHEAULT, Ludovic, Optimists and Skeptics: Why do people believe in the value of their single vote?, Electoral Studies, 2011, 30, 1, 77-82, Special Symposium on Electoral Democracy in the European Union[EUDO Public Opinion Observatory] - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/19981
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
We investigate the origins of voters' beliefs about the value of their single vote. We construe such beliefs as a function of psychological predispositions and exposure to information about the competitiveness of the electoral race. We test this theoretical model using data from the 2008 Canadian federal election and a new survey question tapping voters' beliefs about whether their vote can make a difference. Our results show that sense of efficacy has a strong effect, efficacious voters being more prone to optimism. Competitiveness of the race also matters, but only among attentive voters.
Table of Contents:
1. Methodology
2. Results
3. Conclusion
References
Additional information:
Publication based on research carried out in the framework of the European Union Democracy Observatory (EUDO) of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute.; The journal issue has been produced in the framework of the PIREDEU Project, one of the projects carried out by the EUDO Public Opinion Observatory.
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/19981
Full-text via DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2010.09.008
ISSN: 0261-3794
Series/Number: [EUDO Public Opinion Observatory]
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