Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In Australia, where voting is compulsory, around 5 per cent of votes are informal, not counting toward the outcome. Between 2004 and 2016, 32 per cent of electorates reported more informal votes than votes in the margin between the winner and runner‐up. Using exogenous changes in electorate boundaries, we test two hypotheses from the literature. We find the pivotal voter theory unsupported, except that better‐educated voters respond to the margin more strategically. However, we do find that more candidates cause more informal votes. This choice‐overload effect is observed regardless of voters' education, indicating the role of time and effort cost rather than cognitive difficulty.
Source: Economic Record
Authors: Eamon McGinn, Shiko Maruyama
Institutions: University of Technology Sydney, The University of Osaka
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Australian Government
OpenAlex ID: W3166435856