Austria, England, Ireland and Sweden: Voters from all sides are more satisfied if there are more parties to choose from; the positive effect is stronger among the higher educated

Do voters prefer more parties on the ballot? John Högström, André Blais & Carolina Plescia. Acta Politica, May 6 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41269-021-00203-w

Abstract: Citizens’ evaluation of how well the system works is central to the legitimacy of a democratic system. Elections and voting are crucial parts of the democratic system, and therefore, it is very important to evaluate voter satisfaction with the electoral process. In this study, we evaluate one aspect of the electoral process: the supply of parties on the ballot paper, and we use a direct measure of satisfaction with the party choices available on the ballot. We performed a survey experiment with a representative sample of citizens in four Western European democracies: Austria, England, Ireland and Sweden. The results point to a clear answer: voters are more satisfied if there are more parties to choose from. The findings also show that the positive effect is stronger among the higher educated. We also examined if it is the presence of an ideologically close option that really matters. The results show that respondents in every ideological position prefer more parties. This strongly suggests that it is the number of parties, as such that matters.