Voting in Low Information Elections: Bundling and Non-Independence of Voter Choice

Decades of research on voting in American elections have consistently identified political parties as a predominant determinant of vote choice. Parties play a valuable role in helping voters overcome a lack of substantive information by providing them with low-information cues and shortcuts. However, in many elections, party cues are either absent (as in ballot measure elections and non-partisan races) or not informative (as in primary elections when multiple candidates share a party label). This research considers how voters make electoral choices in these settings when party cues are unavailable. We utilize a unique dataset that allows us to study electoral choice across a set of primary election races. We test a number of hypotheses about the determinants of cross-race voting patterns, and find that voters rely heavily on information shortcuts similar to those provided by party cues. As such, the research not only helps us understand how voters navigate the low-information electoral environments they often face, but also allows us to isolate and examine some of the roles played by parties in other elections. Prepared for presentation at the Annual Meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association, April 25-28, Chicago, IL. We thank Valenta Kabo for research assistance. Gerber acknowledges the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan.