Less is more: The paradox of choice in voting behavior

• Published in: Electoral studies Vol. 69; p. 102230
• Main Authors: Cunow, Saul, Desposato, Scott, Janusz, Andrew, Sells, Cameron
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Campaigns; Candidates; Elections; Errors; Heuristic; Voter behavior; Voters; Voting
• ISSN: 0261-3794; 1873-6890
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102230

How does the number of candidates competing in an election affect voting behavior? In theory, as the number of candidates running for office increase, citizens’ utility from voting also increases. With more candidates, voters are more likely to have candidates that are close to their ideal points. Practically, however, more candidates also means a higher cognitive burden for voters who must learn more during campaigns in order to find their “ideal” candidate. In this paper, we examine how choice set size affects voting behavior. Using a survey experiment, we show that subjects presented with many options learn less about candidates, are more likely to vote based on meaningless heuristics, and are more likely to commit voting errors, when compared with subjects who choose between only a few candidates.