Who would vote NOTA? Explaining a ‘None of the Above’ choice in eight countries

Autor(en)

Carolina Plescia, Sylvia Kritzinger, Shane P. Singh

Abstrakt

In this study, we investigate who would vote 'none of the above' (NOTA) if this were available on the ballot paper using original data from eight European countries. In particular, we examine whether NOTA would be used by abstainers and voters to protest within the electoral process. We also test whether socioeconomic factors and specific and diffuse support for democracy and its institutions correlate with a NOTA vote. We find that having NOTA on the ballot would reduce invalid balloting more than abstention and much more than protest party voting. Our results also suggest that NOTA is related to socioeconomic status, political interest, political knowledge and distrust in political institutions and authorities, but not to broadly undemocratic attitudes. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the increasingly large amounts of abstention and invalid voting, as well as the growing distrust of political institutions, in democratic countries. They also hold lessons for electoral reformers.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Staatswissenschaft

Externe Organisation(en)

University of Georgia

Journal

European Journal of Political Research

Band

62

Seiten

118-134

Anzahl der Seiten

17

ISSN

0304-4130

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12497

Publikationsdatum

11-2021

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

506012 Politische Systeme

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Sociology and Political Science

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/19e4551f-7f0c-47d7-9309-e081a9d98ff7