Party Positions, Voter Discontent, and Support for Non-Viable Parties

• In Event: How Electoral Rules Shape Parties & Party Systems

Abstract

Electoral rules are commonly thought to constrain voting behavior by discouraging voters from supporting non-viable political parties, where a party’s viability is determined by its ability to win a legislative seat in a given electoral district. While there is always a proportion of voters who cast ballots for non-viable parties, the proportion of such voters appears to have grown in recent years as new types of parties, such as populist parties of both the left and right, have emerged across established democracies. What factors drive voters to support electorally non-viable parties? I consider three sets of factors that may influence the propensity of an individual voter to support a non-viable party. The first is the general informational environment available to voters, such as the degree of electoral volatility or the number of political parties competing in the election, that can affect electoral coordination among voters. The second is the degree of policy choice offered by electorally viable parties. Policy convergence by more viable, mainstream parties can encourage voters to cast a ballot for more a desirable but less viable party in the district. Finally, I investigate whether discontent and disaffection among voters leads to greater support for non-viable parties. Drawing on data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) and district-level election results for eight established democracies, I test the effects of each set of factors on the likelihood that a voter will support a non-viable party in an electoral district. The findings suggest that all three sets of factors may affect the level of support voters provide to non-viable parties. These findings have implications for both major (i.e. viable) party strategies and democratic representation in established democracies.

Author

• Robin E. Best, Binghamton University (SUNY)