Tactical coalition voting and information in the laboratory

• Published in: Electoral studies Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 316 - 328
• Main Authors: McCuen, Brian, Morton, Rebecca B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2010
• Subjects: Balance of power; Coalition theory; Coalitions; Electoral systems; Experiments; Government coalition formation; Government formation; Laboratories; Laboratory experiments; Motivation; Proportional Representation; Strategic behaviour; Strategic voting; Tactical coalition voting; Voters; Voting; Voting behaviour; Tactical coalition voting; Government coalition formation; Experiments; Laboratory experiments; Strategic voting
• ISSN: 0261-3794; 1873-6890
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2010.03.009

Tactical coalition voting (TCV) is a balancing strategy where voters choose to vote for their second preferred party in order to influence the policy direction of the government coalition formed. In this paper, we experimentally evaluate the extent voters in a PR system engage in TCV. We find significant evidence that voters in the laboratory, even those not experienced with PR systems, choose strategically to affect post election coalitions using a balancing strategy, although the percentage of voters who do so is much less than that predicted by the theory. We also find that although voters who are less informed are less likely to use a balancing strategy, strategic motivations are still a factor in their behavior.