Who decides what are second-order elections? A study of ticket-splitting in simultaneous federal and regional elections in Belgium
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The idea that regional elections automatically could be considered as second-order elections has been criticized in the recent literature, as the rise of regional authority implies that the regional level has become more important in various federal systems. In the CSES-Belgium election survey (2024), it was asked what level of authority is most important for citizens when they casted a vote simultaneously for the federal and the regional level. Only about 30% of respondents state that the federal elections are more important, and a clear majority of respondents thinks they are equally important. If regional elections are not second-order, the vote choice should be based on an evaluation of the specific policies at that level. The analysis, however, shows that the importance attached to the level of authority is not related to the likelihood of split-ticket voting.
Source: Regional & Federal Studies
Authors: Dieter Stiers, Marc Hooghe
Institution: KU Leuven
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4409754235