Making Statements and Approval Voting
17 Pages Posted: 12 Aug 2005
Date Written: August 2005
Abstract
We assume that people have a need to make statements, and construct a model in which this need is the sole determinant of voting behavior. In this model, an individual selects a ballot that makes as close a statement as possible to her ideal point, where abstaining from voting is a possible (null) statement. We show that in such a model, a political system that adopts approval voting may be expected to enjoy a significantly higher rate of participation in elections than a comparable system with plurality rule.
Keywords: Approval voting, Abstention, Statements
JEL Classification: D72
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Aragonés, Enriqueta and Gilboa, Itzhak and Weiss, Andrew M., Making Statements and Approval Voting (August 2005). Cowles Foundation Discussion Paper No. 1531, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=782308
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