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An Exploration of Correct Voting in Recent U.S. Presidential Elections

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  • Richard R. Lau
  • David J. Andersen
  • David P. Redlawsk

Abstract

Lau and Redlawsk (1997) proposed that the quality of voter decision making can be evaluated by measuring what they called correct voting—the extent to which people vote in accordance with their own values and priorities—but in so doing provided little guidance about what actually determines whether voters can make such high‐quality decisions. This article develops a framework for analyzing the vote decision that views the quality of decision making as a joint function of individual characteristics and various higher‐level campaign factors. We hypothesize that differences in cognitive capacity, political motivation, the availability of political heuristics, and macrolevel factors that affect the difficulty of the choice confronting citizens, including the nature of the political information environment, should all affect the probability of a correct vote. We find significant support for seven proposed hypotheses across three levels of analysis, which places responsibility for incorrect votes on both the individual and our electoral system.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard R. Lau & David J. Andersen & David P. Redlawsk, 2008. "An Exploration of Correct Voting in Recent U.S. Presidential Elections," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(2), pages 395-411, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:52:y:2008:i:2:p:395-411
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2008.00319.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Sergiu Gherghina & Elena Rusu, 2021. "Begin Again: Election Campaign and Own Opinions Among First‐Time Voters in Romania," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1311-1329, July.
    2. Barry C. BURDEN & ONO Yoshikuni, 2020. "Ignorance is Bliss? Age, Misinformation, and Support for Women's Representation," Discussion papers 20066, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Stephan J. Goetz & Meri Davlasheridze & Yicheol Han & David A. Fleming-Muñoz, 2019. "Explaining the 2016 Vote for President Trump across U.S. Counties," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(4), pages 703-722, December.
    4. Maas, Alexander S. & Lu, Liang, 2020. "“Elections have Consequences”: Partisan Politics are Literally Killing Us," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304457, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Peter Grand & Guido Tiemann, 2020. "The Deserving and the Undeserving: "Heuristic" or "Automatism"?," EconPol Working Paper 53, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    6. Matt Lamb & Steven Perry, 2020. "Knowing What You Don't Know: The Role of Information and Sophistication in Ballot Completion," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(3), pages 1132-1149, May.
    7. Rosenqvist, Olof, 2016. "Rising to the occasion? Youth political knowledge and the voting age," Working Paper Series 2016:6, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.

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