Journal Articles

Does Cheating Pay? The Effect of Electoral Misconduct on Party Systems

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This article examines the effect of electoral misconduct on party systems in new electoral regimes. The authors distinguish between different forms of electoral misconduct and argue that preelection tools—which aim to deter opposition parties and their supporters and create a biased information environment—exert a “psychological” effect on parties and voters, whereas ballot fraud exerts a direct, “mechanical” effect on vote shares. Using original data on electoral misconduct in legislative elections in Latin America and postcommunist countries, the authors find that preelection misconduct has a strong reductive effect on the effective number of parties; however, ballot fraud does not. Further investigation suggests that intimidation of opposition parties and voters is the most important mechanism through which misconduct reduces party numbers. By identifying electoral misconduct as a key omitted variable, this article renders the conventional model of party systems more applicable to the political contexts in new electoral regimes.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Comparative Political Studies

Call Number

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Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications., 2012

Collation

p. 575-605

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0010-4140

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 45, Number 5 May 2012 p. 575-605

Subject(s)

Elections
Party Systems
Representation
New democracies
electoral manipulation

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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