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CherryPickingatthe2015SwissFederalElections:TheInfluenceofElectoralCampaigningonPanachageandCumulation
MarcBühlmann,DavidZumbach,MarlèneGerber,AnjaHeidelberger1
Papertobepresentedatthepanel“PartiesinCongestedandContestedPoliticalArenas”,
ECPRConferenceinPrague,7‐10September2016
Abstract
Ourcontributionanalysestheinfluenceofelectoralcampaigningoncandidates’successatthe2015SwisselectionstotheNationalCouncil.Concretely,weaskwhetherandtowhatextenttheintensityandcontentofacandidate’scampaignexertsapersuasiveeffectonvoters.Indoingso,wemakeuseofaratheruniquesettingembeddedintheopen‐listPR‐systemofSwitzerland,
namelyallowingvotersnotonlytoduplicatecandidatesfromachosenlist(cumulation)butalsotoaddcandidatesfromotherpartiesandliststotheirselectedlist(panachage).Usingthe
amountofvotesacandidatereceivedfromvotersfavoringotherpartiesorlistsgivesusanideaaboutacandidate’spersuasivepotentialtogainvotesoutsidehisclassicalvotersegment.Weassessacandidate’scampaignbasedonacollectionofalmost4,000politicaladvertisementsgatheredin50importantsupraregionalandregionalnewspaperscoveringall26cantons,i.e.electoraldistricts.Theinfluenceoftheelectoralcampaignisexaminedusinghierarchicalmodels,bymodellingacandidate’selectoralsuccessforeachballotlistinhisdistrict.Thisprocedurebearstheadvantagethatweareinabetterpositiontomodelthevotesofan
individualcandidateinrelationtothealternativesavoterwasofferedonotherpartylists.Wefindthattheformaswellastheintensityofelectoralcampaigningmatterforelectoralsuccessintermsofboth,votesgainedfromcumulationaswellasvotesgainedfrompanachage.Incontrasttofindingsfromotheropen‐listPR‐systems,wefindthatchallengersprofitsubstantiallymore
fromelectoralcampaigningthanincumbentsdo.
1Theorderofauthorshasbeendeterminedbythrowingthedice.
Introduction
Theprincipleofselectingrepresentativesbycitizensviapopularelectionsliesattheveryheart
ofrepresentativedemocracies.Inmostofthecases,thechoiceofthecandidatesisdetermined
bythepartyavoterdecidestosupport.Yetinsome–andmostlyEuropean–democracies,
citizensalsohavethepossibilitytovoteforcandidatesoftheirchoice,withinorevenacross
partylists.Asaconsequence,candidate‐specificfactorsbecomemoreimportantforelectoral
successinmultimemberdistrictsthatallowforthesocalled“preferentialvoting”comparedto
districtsthatdonot(e.g.,Sartori1976;Katz1986;CareyandShugart1995;Karvonen2004;
Shugartetal.2005).
Sincevotersdemandmoreinformationonacandidatewhentheyareallowedtochoosefroma
largersetofcandidates,researchersstartedtoexaminetheeffectofcandidatespecificfactors
suchaslocaltiesandlower‐levelpoliticalexperience(e.g.,Shugartetal.2005;Tavits2010;Put
andMaddens2015),incumbency(e.g.,Moon2006;MaddensandPut2013),acandidate’s
positiononthelist(e.g.,Lutz2010;Wautersetal.2010),hismediapresence(vanAelstetal.
2008;ElmelundandHopmann2012)andtheelectoralcampaign(e.g.,Bowleretal.1996;
Maddensetal.2006;MaddensandPut2013;SpieringsandJacobs2014)onelectoraloutcomes
inpreferentialvotesystems.
Whilemostofthesefactorsarepredefinedbyacandidatescurriculumvitae,acandidatestillhas
thepossibilitytopromotehimselfandhiscapabilitiesviaelectoralcampaigning–something
whichisoftenmadeuseofinsystemsknowingpreferentialvoting(Katz1986:101;Karvonen
2004).Uptonow,however,evidenceaboutwhether“effortstocultivatepersonalvotepayoff”
(Tavits2010:216)isinconclusive(see,e.g.,Bowleretal.1996;Maddensetal.2006;Elmelund
andHopmann2012;SpieringsandJacobs2014).Furthermore,theimpactofcampaignactivities
islikelytovaryacrosscountries(SpieringsandJacobs2014:217‐18),whichcallsformore
researchindifferentcontexts.
ThispaperanalysestheimpactofcampaignactivitiesonpreferentialvotinginSwitzerlandin
theframeworkofthe2015generalelectionstotheNationalCouncil.WefocusonSwitzerland
fortwoparticularreasons.First,wemakeuseofauniquedatasetconsistingofcampaign
advertisementspublishedinmorethan50importantnationalandregionalnewspapers
(Bühlmannetal.2015).Withthehelpofthisdata,wearenotonlyinapositiontoexaminethe
impactoftheintensityofpersonalcampaigns,butalsotheeffectoftheirformandcontent.
Second,theelectoralsysteminSwitzerlandischaracterizedbystrongpreferentialvoting
(Karvonen2004:208).Inmostofthecountriesthatholdacertainformofpreferentialvoting,
onlycandidatesfromthesameparty(orlist)canbechosen.2Thusthepartychoicehasavery
predominantrole,implyingthatvoterslookatcandidates’attributesonlyafterhavingchosena
preferredpartyorlist.ThisisdifferentinSwitzerland:Swissvoterscan1)cumulateacandidate,
i.e.puthimtwiceonalist(mostlyimplyingthatanothercandidateneedstobedeletedfromthe
list),and2)andmostrelevantfortheaimofourinvestigation–includecandidatesfromanother
partyorlistontothechosenlist(socalledpanachageandagainimplyingtheexclusionofa
candidatefromachosenlist).Thistogetherwiththefactthat,afterdeterminingtheamountof
seatsapartyreceives,thedistributionofseatsisdictatedbythesumofindividualcandidates’
votes,islikelytopresentstrongincentivesforpersonalvote‐seekingbehaviour(SelbandLutz
2015;seealsoShugartetal.2005).Moreover,thisparticularityallowsustoexaminepotential
andunexploreddifferencesintheimpactofcampaigningbetween“loyal”preferentialvotes,i.e.
thecumulationofacandidatefromachosenlist,and“alien”preferentialvotes,i.e.thepanachage
ofcandidatesfromotherthanthechosenlist.
Thesubsequentsectionsofthepaperareorganizedasfollows.Inthenextsection,wediscuss
expectationsfortheimpactofelectoralcampaignsonpersonalvotes.Subsequently,wedescribe
thedataaswellasthemethod(section3)weusedinouranalyses,whichiswhatwepresentin
section4,beforewediscusstheimplicationsofourfindingsandconclude.
Campaigneffects
Broadlyspeaking,therearetwosystemsforparliamentaryelections:themajorityandplurality
versustheproportionalelectoralsystem.Themainaimofthefirsttypeistheselectionofthe
mostqualifiedcandidateinsingle‐memberdistricts.Thiswinner‐take‐all‐methodleadstothe
emergenceoftwo‐partysystems;withstrongincentivesforvoterstochooseamongcandidates
oftwostrongpartiesthatholdadequatechancestogainaseat(Duverger1959).Inthis
situation,apluralisticsocietyisonlybadlyrepresented.Adequaterepresentationofsuch
societalpluralityisthebasicaimoftheproportionalrepresentationsystemwherevotershaveto
choosebetweenseveralpartiesrepresentingdifferentideas.Inthissystemitisthepartiesthat
nominatecandidatesontheirlistsandcandidatevotingislesspronouncedthaninmajorityand
pluralitysystems.
Yetthecandidatesthatthepartiesputonthetopoftheirlistsmaydifferfromvoters’
preferences(Katz1997;Farell2011).Whileinmostcountrieswithproportionalrepresentation
2LeaningonKarvonen(2004)wecandifferentiatetwotypesoflistproportionalrepresentationsystems:insystemswhereyoucanonlychoosethepreferredpartyandputtheirlistintotheballotbox(closedlist),candidate‐centeredvotingisoflowimportance.However,therearealsosystemsallowingvoterstoinfluencewhichcandidateswillrepresentthem(openorfreelist).Differentrulesallowforarankingofthecandidatesonthelist(e.g.Ireland),forgivingsocalledpreferencevotesforspecificcandidatesonalist(e.g.Belgium)orallowingforfreelychoosingseveralcandidatesfromapartylist(e.g.Finland).
system,votersaresimplyallowedtochoosetheirpreferredpartyandputtheirlistintothe
ballotbox(closedlistsystems),insomecountriestherearerulesgivingthevoterssome
influenceonthechoiceofthecandidates.Suchopenlistelectoralsystemstrytocombinethe
advantagesofmajoritarianandrepresentationalsystemsallowingforpartyaswellascandidate
choice,i.e.anideologicalaswellasapersonalrepresentation.
Intheirpathbreakingwork,CareyandShugart(1995)arguedthatinsuchanopenlistelectoral
system,candidateshavestrongincentivestoorienttheircampaigntowardstheirown
reputation.Ifvotershavethepossibilitytodecideoncandidates,theyaskforinformationabout
thecandidates.Thus,“candidatesmayattractsupportforwhotheyare,orwhattheyhavedone,
orwhattheymightdo,ratherthansimplybecauseofthepartytowhichtheybelong”(Marsh
2007:501).Severalstudiesshowedthatcandidate‐centredfactorsareindeedimportant
comparedtomereparty‐centredfactors(Karvonen2004;Marsh2007;Moser&Scheiner2005;
Shugartetal.2005;Swindle2002).
Thefollow‐upquestionis:whichcandidatespecificfactorshaveaninfluenceonelectoral
outcomes?Researchonthisquestionhighlightstheimpactoflocaltiesandlower‐levelpolitical
experience(e.g.,Shugartetal.2005;Tavits2010;PutandMaddens2015),incumbency(e.g.,
Moon2006;MaddensandPut2013),acandidate’spositiononthelist(e.g.,Lutz2010;Wauters
etal.2010)orhismediapresence(vanAelstetal.2008;ElmelundandHopmann2012)on
electoralsuccess(foradiscussionontheassumedeffectsofthesefactorsseebelow).
Besideshavinganinterestingcurriculum,acandidatecanalsopromotehimselfbycampaigning.
Campaignspendingisanimportantwaytoenhanceacandidate’svisibilityvisàvisthe
electorate.Severalstudiesfoundapositiveimpactofcampaignspendingonelectoraloutcome
(e.g.,Maddensetal.2006;MaddensandPut2013;SpieringsandJacobs2014;however,see
Bowleretal.1996;Elmelund‐PraestekaerandHopmann2012forcounter‐evidence).
Furthermore,thiseffectmightbestrongerforchallengers,sincevotersarelessornotatall
familiarwithnewcandidatesthantheyarewithincumbents.Thus,inthelattercase,the
“marginalreturnofcampaignexpensesshouldbelowerthanforchallengers,whohavetogain
visibilityduringthecampaignandcanonlydosothroughspending”(Maddens&Put2013:
853).ThisrelationshiphasrepeatedlybeendemonstratedintheU.S.(e.g.,Abramowitz1991;
Jacobson1978;Moon2006).Ontheotherhand,Maddensetal.(2006)couldnotdetectsuchan
effectinBelgiumwithitsproportionalelectoralsystemandsemi‐openlist.MaddensandPut
(2013:853)hypothesizethatinproportionallistsystemswithlargeconstituencies–the
averageBelgiumconstituencycounts13.6seats–theincumbentMPsarenotaswell‐knownas
theonesinsmallerconstituenciesorinmajoritariansystemswithsingle‐memberdistricts.Since
inlargeconstituencies,itismoredifficultforvoterstorecallalltheirincumbents,thecampaign
effectbetweenincumbentandchallengersislikelytodiminishinlargerconstituencies.On
average,the26Swissconstituenciesare,with7.7seatsperconstituency,ofsmallersizethanthe
Belgiumones.3
However,inourcontributionwedonotsolelyfocusontheamountofcampaignexpenses.We
relyonauniquedatasetconsistingofcampaignadvertisementspublishedinmorethan50
importantnationalandregionalnewspapers(Bühlmannetal.2015).Withthehelpofthisdata,
weaimattestingtheeffectofthevisibility,theuniquenessandthelocalanchoringofa
candidate’scampaignonhiselectoraloutcome.InSwitzerland,candidatesarenotobligedto
disclosetheirfunding,whichiswhywehavetorelyonothermeasuresofcampaigning.
Althoughweagreethatothercampaigningstrategiessuchasadvertisinginsocialmediagainin
importance,peoplestillpaymuchmoreattentiontopoliticaladvertisementsinprintmediathan
towebpagesconcerningtheelections(Selects2011).4Inthefollowing,wearguethatitisnot
onlythecampaignexpenses,i.e.amereexposureeffectthatmatterbutalsothestrategyaswell
asthecontentofacandidate’scampaign.Toattract(alien)voters,acandidatemustbevisible,he
mustshowthatheisdifferentfromothercandidatesandhemustproveconnectednesswithhis
constituents.
Visibilityincreaseseligibility:Candidatesthataremorepresentduringthecampaignhavea
comparativeadvantageovercandidatesthatdonotpresentthemselves–independentofthe
contentoftheircampaign.First,theyincreasetheirvisibilityamongthevotersandsecond,they
mightprofitfromamererepeatedexposureeffect,i.e.fromthemechanismthatrepeated
exposuretoastimulusincreasesitsaccessibilitytotheindividual’sperception(Zajonc1968:1).
Suchaneffectisparticularlypronewhenindividualvoterspursuealow‐costinformation
strategyandrelyoncuespresentedtothem(e.g.,Moonsetal.2009,seealsoSteenbergen2010).
Furthermore,visibilitycanbeincreasedbyclever‘productplacement’(e.g.,Geise&
Brettschneider2010).Acolouredadvertisementonthefrontpageofanewspaperforexampleis
supposedtoattractmoreattentionthanablack‐whitedesignedadvertisementonthe
advertorialpageinthelastpartofthenewspaper.
Inordertocaptureamereexposureeffect,wetakethefrequencyofadspublishedper
candidate.Furthermore,weincludevariablesthatcapturethevisibilityofacandidate’s
campaign.Thesearetheproportionofacandidate’sadspublishedonthefirstpageofabundled
newspaperandtheproportionofadsprintedincolour.
3YettherangeintheSwissconstituenciesisquitesubstantial:sixoutof26cantonshavemorethan10seats,twoofthemmorethan20(Bern25;Zurich35).4InSwitzerland,electoralcampaigningontelevisionandradioisnotallowed.
Individualizedcampaigninghelpstostandout:Acandidateaimingatattractingvotersthatdonot
intendtovoteforhispartyshouldshowsomedegreeofindependence.Ofcoursethereisafine
linebetweenattractingalienvotersandscaringofftheownfollowers.However,sinceparty
cohesionisassumedtobesmallerinpreferentialvotingsystems(Karvonen2004;Katz1986),
showingacertainamountofautonomycanhelptowinelections.Acandidatecandemonstrate
suchautonomybyconductingahighlypersonalizedcampaign,i.e.acampaignwherethegoalis
topromotethecandidateinsteadofthepartyheorsheisrunningfor(seee.g.,Zittel&
Gschwend2008;Selb&Lutz2015).InSwitzerland,candidatesareoftensupportedbyimportant
associations.Wearguethatthedegreetowhichacandidate’scampaignwasexternallyfunded–
weusethepercentageofacandidate’sadswherethisisthecase–accountsforthedegreeof
independencefromhisparty.Acandidatefundedbyanassociationcanpresenthimselfina
differentlightandatthesametimedistancehimselffromothercandidatesonhisownlist.Asan
additionalmeasure,weincludetheproportionofadswherethecandidatewascampaigning
withouthiscombatants,assumingthatadvertisingtogetherwithseveralcandidatesfromthe
samepartypromoteshigherpartyunity–attheexpenseofsinglecandidates.Additionally,by
showinghisconnectionwithanimportantassociation,acandidatealsogainsinuniqueness.
Demonstratinglocalrootednesspaysoff:Severalstudiesdemonstratetheimportanceof
candidates’local‐levelpoliticalcharacteristicsforelectoralsuccess(Tavits2010).Localtiesare
seenas“acrucialpersonalvote‐earningattribute”(PutandMaddens2015:608).Occupyinga
localoffice(Tavits2010)orlivinginbigmunicipalities(PutandMaddens2015)canincreasethe
numberofvotesacandidategets.Localbirthplaceandlocal‐levelpoliticalexperiencearesignals
forfamiliaritywithlocalinterests.Therefore,votersseemtorewardcandidateswithlocalroots.
However,wearguethatacandidateshouldactivelydemonstratethestrengthofhislocalties
duringhiscampaigntoconvinceevenmorevotersthanonlythosealreadyknowinghim.To
capturewhetheracandidate’scampaignislocallyrooted,weintroducedtheproportionofads
containingoneormoretestimonialswherelocalcelebritiespromotethecandidate.
Furthermore,weusetheproportionofadscallingattentiontoeventswherevoterswereableto
meetthecandidate.Weassumethatrealcontactwithvotershasahighpotentialtoincreasea
candidate’selectoralsuccess(Karvonen2004).
Ofcourse,lookingatthecontentratherthantheextentofcampaigningshouldalsoinclude
negativecampaigning.Negativeadvertisingseemstogrowinimportance(Geer2006).Providing
voterswithinformationaboutpoorcharacteristicsofanaliencandidatecanbeaninstrumentto
alienatevotersfromthecandidatesufferingfromnegativecampaigning(FridkinandKenney
2011).Yetnegativecampaigningcanalsoprovokeabacklashforthecandidateorthepartythat
sponsoredthenegativepromotion(BrooksandMurov2012;Lauetal.2007):adherentsofthe
negativelyadvertisedcandidategetmotivatedtosupporthimevenmore.Inordertoexamine
thepotentialeffectofnegativecampaigning,weincludeabinaryvariablecapturingwhetherthe
candidatehasbeenavictimofnegativecampaigninginatleastoneadpublishedintheforefront
ofthegeneralelections.
DataandMethod
The2015generalelectionstotheNationalCouncilinSwitzerland
Switzerlandhasabicamerallegislatureandpopularelectionstakingplaceeveryfouryears,with
the26Swiss(half‐)cantonsformingthedistricts.WhileintheCouncilofStates,eachfullcanton
getstwoseatsandeachoftheformersixhalf‐cantonsreceivesone,theelectoralruleapplyingis
–withtwoexceptions–majoritarian.ThingsaredifferentintheNationalCouncil,wherethe200
seatsaredistributedaccordingtoacanton’spopulationsizeusingaproportionallistformula
(D’Hondt).AccordingtotheOSCE(2012:7),theSwisselectoralsystemis“unusuallycomplex,
[but]ithasthepositiveeffectofenhancingvoters’choice”.Itsfreelistsystemgiveseachvoteras
manyvotesasthereareseatsinhisorherdistrict(between1and35).Acitizencanerasenames
onpreprintedlists,voteformembersofdifferentpartiesorlists(panachage),givetwovotestoa
singlecandidate(cumulation)—andcandoallofthisatthesametime.Votingforalien
candidates(panachage)isquitepopular:inthe2015Swisselections,5’756’035votes(froma
totalof39’563’016votes)stemmedfrompanachage.Alreadyatthenationalelectionsin1975,
Niemetz(1977:299)detectedacertain“panachageenthusiasm”(Panaschierfreudigkeit),which
hetracedbacktoastrongerpersonalizationofthevotesratherthanthelooseningofpartyties.
Thus,theSwisssystemcombinesquiteuniquelytheadvantageofmajoritarianelectoralsystems
aimingatselectionofthemostqualifiedcandidatewiththeadvantageofproportional
representationaimingatpluralrepresentation.Thisgivesustheopportunitytotesttheimpact
ofcandidates’campaignactivitiesonboth,intra‐party(i.e.intra‐listcumulation)aswellasinter‐
partycompetition(i.e.inter‐listpanachage).Inthispaper,weundertakeanexploratory
approachandanalysecampaigneffectsonboth,“loyal”and“alien”preferencevotes.For
instance,onecouldassumethatindividualizedcampaignsincreasethevotesacandidate
receivesfromalienlistsbutnotnecessarilythevotesthatshereceivesfromvoterswhochose
herownpartylist.
Forourpurpose,wefocusonthe20cantonsthatdisposeofmorethanoneseatintheNational
Council,sincetheactofcumulationaswellaspanachagerequiresthepossibilitytovoteforat
leasttwocandidates.Intheselectedcantons,atotalof3788candidateswererunningon422
lists.1001outofthesecandidates(on220lists)placedatleastonecampaignadinoneormore
newspapersincludedinoursamplebetweenJanuary1standtheelectiondayonOctober18th.
Method
Inordertoexaminetheeffectofcampaignactivityonpersonalvotesacandidatereceives,we
ranmultilevelmodelswithrandomintercepts.UnlikeotherstudieswhichusedtheSwiss
panachagestatistics(BFS2016)atanaggregatelevel(Lutz2010),i.e.usedthecandidates’total
numberofpreferencevotescast,wefullyexploitthedata’spotentialbymodellingacandidate’s
electoralsuccessforeachballotlistinhisdistrict.Thisprocedurebearstheadvantagethatwe
areinabetterpositiontomodelthevotesofanindividualcandidateinrelationtothe
alternativesavoterwasofferedonotherpartylists.Hence,asadependentvariable,weemploy,
ontheonehand,thedegreetowhichacandidatewasabletoexploitthepanachagepotentialofa
specificlist:
Y , (1a)
wherepijisthenumberofpanachagevotesobtainedbycandidateionlistjandbdthenumberof
validballotpapersforalistd≠j.Sincethepanachagepotentialisheavilyskewedtowardsthe
right,wetakethelogofit.
Ontheotherhand,weusethedegreetowhichacandidatewasabletorealisehiscumulation
potentialasadependentvariable,whichcorrespondstotheaboveexcludedspecialcaseofd=j:
Y (2a)
Ourfocusonthelist‐specificachievementallowsustocontrolforsomecrucialcharacteristicsof
theoriginofapreferentialvote,i.e.aspecificvotersegment,andthustomodelthevotedecision
moreaccurately.Todoso,weneedtoaccountforthefactthateachlistj‐to‐listd‐combinationin
(1a)itselfisnestedinacross‐classificationofthecorrespondingparty‐to‐party‐combination
(pjpd)andtheelectoraldistrict(canton(c)).Hence,equation(1a)mustberewrittenas:
Y (1b)
Almostthesameappliestothespecialcase(2a):
Y (2b)
Sinceweassumethatunobservedfeaturesfromalltheselevelsaffectacandidate’sabilityto
exploithispersonalvotepotential,ourempiricalmodelsincludeseparatestandarderror
components.
Table1:Standarderrorcomponentsincludedintheregressionsof(1b)and(2b).
Panachagemodels Cumulationmodels
Cantons uc uc
Parties upjpd up
Lists ujd(pjpdc) uj(pjc)
Candidates uij(pjpdc)
Residual eijd(pjpdc) eij(pjc)
Takentogether,thisleadsustoacross‐classifiedrandomeffectsmodel(Snijders/Bosker1999)
whosecoefficientsareestimatedviarestrictedmaximumlikelihood(REML).
Besidethevariablesoftheassumedcampaigneffectsasdiscussedabove,weincludeseveral
additionalvariables.Atthecantonallevel,wecontrolfortheamountoflistspresentedtothe
voter,assumingthatahigheramountoflistsincreasesthechancesforavotertofindalistthat
matcheshispreferences,whichthuslowerstheamountofpersonalvotes.Furthermore,we
controlforthenumberofseats,ormandates,percanton(or,district).Furthermore,weinclude
twovariablesthatcapturewhetheracantonhas,comparedtothepreviouselectionanddueto
itsdemographicdevelopment,oneseatmoreorlesstooccupy.Althoughthesevariablesarenot
supposedtobedirectlyrelatedtothedependentvariable,theymightstronglyinfluencethe
degreeofcompetitionandthusthelevelofelectoralcampaigningwithinacanton.Wethus
includethesefactorsinordertoaccountforapotentialomittedvariablebias(seebelow).
Atthelevelofparties(or,party‐combinationsinthecaseofpanachage),weaccountforthe
overallvoteshareinthepreviouselections(2011)ofthepartythecandidatebelongsto,and–in
thecaseofthepanachagemodels–alsoforthe2011voteshareofthepartyreceivinga
(panachage)vote(=recipient).Incaseofthepanachagemodelswherecandidatesreceivevotes
fromoutsidetheirownlist,wealsoincludetheoverallvoteshareofthepartywhoselistisused
(donor)inordertoaddan“alien”candidate(whichgoeshandinhandwiththedonorparty
losingavote).Furthermore,weaddabinaryvariablethataccountsforthefactwhetherthe
donorandtherecipientlistbelongtothesamepartyornot.5
5InSwitzerland,partiesareallowedtorunonseverallistsandsublists(i.e.listswithfemalecandidatesandmalecandidatesonly,listswithyoungcandidates,etc.).
Attheleveloflists(or,list‐combinationsinthecaseofpanachage),wecontrolwhethera
candidatereceivingavote(=recipient)ispresentedonthemainorthejuniorlistofaparty
(comparedtootherlistsofaparty,suchasSwissabroad,greypanthers,etc.)aswellasthe
numberofmandateswonbythepartyin2011inordertomonitorthestrengthoftherecipient
listinagivencanton.Incaseofthepanachagemodels,weincludeexactlythesamevariablesfor
thedonorparty,i.e.thepartywhoselistwaschosenandwhereanexternalcandidatewasadded
to.Here,weassumethatcandidatesfrompowerfullistsarelikelytobeenlistedonother,less
powerfullists.Inaddition,wecontrolfortheorderoftherecipient’slist(assumingthatfront
listsreceivemoreattention)andwhetherthechosenlist(donor)disposesoffreespots,which
enhancesthepotentialforcumulationorpanachagesincenocandidateneedstobereplaced.
Furthermore,wecontrolforthefactthatpartiesareallowedtoallywithotherpartiesin
“combinedlists”(apparentments)andalsotocreate“sub‐lists,”e.g.foryoungorfemale
candidatesonly.Here,weassumethatvotersaremorelikelytoenclosecandidateswithina
combinedlist.
Atthecandidatelevel,wecontrolforalargesetofpotentialpersonalvoteearningattributes
(Shugartetal.2005).Onegroupofvariablesisintroducedtoaccountforthepoliticalexpertiseof
acandidate.Oneofthestrongestfactorsfoundinvirtuallyallstudiesonpreferencevotingis
incumbency(Carsonetal.2007;Cox&Katz1996;Gelman&King1990;Maddens&Put2013;
Put&Maddens2015),sinceincumbentsdisposeoftraceablepoliticalexperienceandemanate
familiarity.Furthermoreandforasimilarreason,weincludeabinaryvariablecapturing
whetherthecandidateisalsorunningfortheprestigioussecondchamberoftheCouncilof
States.However,politicalexperiencecanalsobegainedatthelocallevel.Thetypicalcareerofa
(Swiss)politicianbeginsatthelocalandendsatthenationallevel.EvenifthisOchsentour
(drudgery),asitiscalledinSwitzerland,isnolongeraswidespreadasitwasinthe20th
century,holdingapoliticalofficeatthelocallevelcanbeasignofpoliticalexpertise.
Additionally,alocalofficeimplieslocalrootsthatcouldattractvoterslookingforcandidates
whopromiserepresentingtheconstituency(Tavits2010).Therefore,wecontrolforwhethera
candidateholdsapoliticalofficeatthelocalorcantonallevel.Furthermore,localtiesmaybe
connectedtoconstituency‐orientationandthusbearhigherincentivesforvoterstoconsidera
localcandidate(Blaisetal.2003;Tavits2010),whichiswhywealsoconsiderwhethera
candidateisrunningforofficeinthesamecantonwherehishometownislocated.Lastbutnot
least,acandidate’spersonalcharacteristicsmayinfluenceitsvotingpotential,sincevotersmight
striveforenhancingdescriptiverepresentation(Mansbridge1999;BühlmannandSchädel
2012).Therefore,weincludecontrolsforgender,ageandprofession(farmers,workers,and
academics).6
Furthermore,wecontrolforadditionalfactorslocatedatthecandidatelevel:Severalstudies
highlighttheimportanceofballotposition(foranoverviewseeSpierings&Jacobs2014).The
positiononthepartylisthasproventobeanimportantdeterminantofelectoralsuccess,in
Switzerlandaswellaselsewhere(e.g.,Lutz2010;Tavits2010).Sincecampaigningisstrategic,
i.e.dependentontheexpectedchancesofelectoralsuccess,weneedtoidentifyfactorsthat
directlyaffecttheendogeneousregressor(campaigning)withoutdirectlyaffectingthe
dependentvariable,inordertoprecludetheproblemofomittedvariablebias(Moon2006).One
suchfactoriswhetheracandidateoccupiesawaiting‐listposition.Here,weexpectcandidates
thatholdthepositiononthelistthatwouldsignifyagaininseatforapartytohaveparticularly
strongincentivestoinvestinhiscampaignsincehischancestosucceedarerealbutnotcertain.
Asanexample,considertheSwissPopulistPartyinthecantonofZurichwhoheld11seats
duringthe2011/15legislature.Sinceinmostofthecantons,theorderofthecandidatesis
determinedbytheirpoliticalexperienceandincumbencystatus,thecandidateonthe12th
positionofthelisthasahigherincentivetogatherpersonalvotesthanthecandidatesplaced
beforeandafterhim.
Results
Wefirstpresentourmodelsofthepanachagepotential,i.e.determinantsofpreferentialvotes
receivedfromoutsideacandidate’sownpartylist.Turningtoourcontrolvariables(Model1,
Table2),resultsareasexpected:candidatesbelongingtolargerpartiesalsoexhibitahigher
panachagepotentialthancandidatesfrommoremarginalizedpartiesorlists.Furthermore,
closenesspaysout:candidatesaresubstantiallymorelikelytobeaddedtootherlistsofthe
samepartyor,tosomedegree,alsotoconnectedlists.Wealsofindtheassumedeffectofthe
ballotposition:thefurtherupacandidateisplacedinthelist,themorevotesshereceivedfrom
panachage.Furthermore,politicalexpertiseishighlyvaluedbyvoters.IncumbentMPsarefar
morelikelytoreceivepanachagevotesthantheirchallengers.Alsoholdingapoliticalofficeon
themunicipalityorthecantonallevelbearsacomparativeadvantageandsodoesrunning
simultaneouslyforthemoreprestigioussecondchamber,theCouncilofStates.Interestingly,
womenandyoungercandidateshaveasignificantlyhigherpanachagepotentialthantheirpeers,
presentingafirsthintthatthepanachagevotealsoservestoenhancedescriptiverepresentation.
6Inthesocalled„militiasystem“inSwitzerlandrepresentativesarenotprofessionalpoliticiansbuttheypursueaprofessionbesidetheirpoliticalmandate.Thus,mostofthecandidates(andevenincumbents)mentiontheiroccupation.Ofcourse,nobodycontrolsifthecandidatesreallypractisethementionedjobortowhatlevel.Thereareevenmentionedsuchthingsas“politician”or“artistoflive”.However,wearguethatthementionofanoccupationisanimportantsellingargumentforacandidate.
Likewise,farmersarefarmorelikelytobeaddedtoexistinglists,whilethecontraryappliesto
workers,althoughthisrelationshipisweakerandonlymarginallysignificant.Moreover,
candidatesrunningincantonswithahighernumberofseatsdisplayalowerpanachage
potential,leavinguswiththeassumptionthatthehigherthenumberofcandidatestobeelected,
thebetterthelistofcandidatesalreadyreflectsthevoters’willandthelesspanachageis
necessary.Lastbutnotleast,candidatesalsoreceivesignificantlymorepanachagevotesfrom
listswithemptylines.Apparently,voterstendtomaximizetheirvotingpotentialbyadding
additionalcandidatestoemptyspotsonthelist.
Table2:Determinantsofpanachagesuccess Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Intercept ‐5.449 (0.224)** ‐5.346 (0.23)** ‐5.346 (0.229)**
Canton No. of mandates ‐0.051 (0.009)** ‐0.048 (0.008)** ‐0.047 (0.008)** Additional mandate 0.191 (0.187) 0.186 (0.186) Mandate Reduction ‐0.039 (0.149) ‐0.031 (0.148) No. of lists ‐0.002 (0.012) ‐0.010 (0.012) ‐0.010 (0.012)
Party Recipient: Vote share 2011 0.007 (0.005) 0.002 (0.005) 0.002 (0.005) Donor: Vote share 2011 ‐0.030 (0.005)** ‐0.030 (0.005)** ‐0.030 (0.005)** Same party 1.213 (0.184)** 1.198 (0.183)** 1.197 (0.183)**
List Recipient: main 0.478 (0.041)** 0.410 (0.041)** 0.402 (0.041)** Recipient: junior ‐0.077 (0.044)° ‐0.057 (0.043) ‐0.049 (0.043) Recipient: position ‐0.003 (0.002) ‐0.001 (0.002) ‐0.001 (0.002) Recipient: No. of mandates 2011 0.088 (0.010)** 0.077 (0.010)** 0.076 (0.010)** Donor: main ‐0.591 (0.025)** ‐0.592 (0.025)** ‐0.592 (0.025)** Donor: junior 0.146 (0.025)** 0.146 (0.025)** 0.146 (0.025)** Donor: No. of mandates 2011 ‐0.086 (0.008)** ‐0.086 (0.008)** ‐0.086 (0.008)** Donor: No. of empty lines on ballot 0.049 (0.002)** 0.049 (0.002)** 0.049 (0.002)** Combined lists 0.237 (0.029)** 0.237 (0.029)** 0.236 (0.029)**
Candidate Ballot position ‐0.018 (0.001)** ‐0.018 (0.001)** ‐0.018 (0.001)** Waiting‐list position ‐0.179 (0.078)* ‐0.170 (0.078)* Incumbent 1.408 (0.042)** 1.240 (0.046)** 1.435 (0.054)** Age ‐0.002 (0.001)* ‐0.002 (0.001)** ‐0.002 (0.001)** Woman 0.106 (0.017)** 0.108 (0.017)** 0.109 (0.017)** Runs for Council of States 0.653 (0.054)** 0.521 (0.054)** 0.537 (0.054)** Holds political office on municipality level 0.157 (0.031)** 0.157 (0.030)** 0.157 (0.030)** Holds political office on cantonal level 0.340 (0.035)** 0.299 (0.035)** 0.278 (0.035)** Locally anchored 0.084 (0.017)** 0.079 (0.016)** 0.077 (0.016)** Academic 0.026 (0.019) 0.030 (0.019) 0.029 (0.019) Farmer 0.313 (0.043)** 0.346 (0.042)** 0.349 (0.042)** Worker ‐0.072 (0.037)° ‐0.070 (0.036)° ‐0.068 (0.036)°
Campaign No. of advertisements 0.012 (0.002)** 0.023 (0.002)** Share of advertisements on front page 0.155 (0.062)* 0.146 (0.061)* Share of individual advertisements 0.158 (0.052)** 0.141 (0.052)** Share of advertisements in colour 0.156 (0.035)** 0.119 (0.036)** Share of externally funded advertisements ‐0.022 (0.043) ‐0.040 (0.043) Share of testimonial advertisements 0.150 (0.089)° 0.123 (0.089) Share of event advertisements 0.262 (0.107)* 0.231 (0.107)* Negative campaigning ‐0.117 (0.089) ‐0.113 (0.088)
Interactions (Incumbent)x(No. of advertisements) ‐0.021 (0.003)**
Random effect Cantonal‐Level 0.236 0.216 0.215SDs Party‐Level 0.636 0.636 0.635 List‐Level 0.658 0.656 0.656 Candidate‐Level 0.454 0.443 0.441 Residual 0.608 0.608 0.608
Notes:REML‐estimatesfromtheregressionoflogpanachagesuccessondifferentmeasures.Nobservations=94174,NCandidates=3788,NList.‐combinations=9314,NParty‐combinations=336,NCantons=20;**99%;*95%;°90%.
Turningtoourcampaignvariables(Model2,Table2),wefindthatthemoreoftenacandidate
waspresentedonadvertisements,thehigherhispanachagepotential.7Alsotheadditional
campaignvariablesintroducedtocapturethevisibilityofacandidate’scampaign(shareof
colouredadsandtheshareofadspresentedonthefrontpageofanewspaper)provetobe
significant.Furthermore,anindividualizedstyleofcampaigningapparentlymakesacandidate
moreattractiveforvoterswhochoseanotherpartylistthanthecandidate’s:theshareof
externallyfundedcampaignadsissignificantlyandpositivelyrelatedtothepanachagepotential.
Theshareofcampaignadsdisplayingacandidate’snametogetherwiththeinvitationtoa
campaigneventgeneratesadditionalvoterpotential,too.However,displayinglocalrootedness
bylettingspeaktestimonials(i.e.usuallypotentialvoters)inone’scampaignissupposedtobe
onlymarginallysignificant.Furthermore,victimsofnegativecampaigningdonotnecessarily
havetofearnegativeeffects:althoughthepostulatedrelationtothepanachagepotentialis
negative,itisnotsignificant.
Inmodel3ofTable2,weinteractedtheincumbencystatuswiththenumberofcampaignadsin
ordertoexplorewhetherelectoralcampaigningpaysoutdifferentlyforchallengersand
incumbents.AsFigure1shows,thisisindeedthecase.Whileincumbentsdobarelyseemto
profitfrom(extensive)electoralcampaigning,challengerscan.Inthissense,ourresultsconcur
withevidencefromtheU.S.(e.g.,Abramowitz1991;Jacobson1978;Moon2006)whilethey
standincontrasttofindingsfromBelgium(MaddensandPut2013).Asdiscussedabove,
MaddensandPut(2013:853)tracetheirnon‐findingbacktothesizeoftheconstituency:in
largeconstituencies,itmightbemoredifficulttorecallallincumbentMPs,whileitiseasierin
smallerconstituenciesorinmajoritarianelectoralsystemswithsingle‐memberdistrictssuchas
theU.S.TheaverageSwissconstituencyis,with7.7seatsperunit,almosthalfasbigasthe
averageBelgiumconstituency(13.6).Byinteractingthechallenger’scampaigneffectwith
districtsize,futureresearchmightshedmorelightonthismatter.
7Ofcourse,ourmodelsruntheriskofoverestimatingthecampaigneffectsinceirrelevantchallengersareincludedaswell(seee.g.,Maddens&Put2013:853).Yetwealsoranmodelswhereweonlyincludedcandidateswhowereondisplayofatleastonecampaignad(Ncandidates=1001),assumingthatonlypotentiallyrelevantchallengersinvestedincampaignspending.However,resultsdidnotchangesubstantially(resultsavailableonrequest).
Figure1:Effectofcampaignintensityonelectoralsuccess(panachageexploitation)
Notes:ThisfigureisbasedontheinteractioneffectincludedinModel3,displayedinTable2.Campaignintensityiscapturedbyacandidate’stotalnumberofcampaignads.
Inthesecondsetofmodelsweexplorethecumulationpotentialofacandidate,i.e.thevoteshe
orshegetsfromhisownpartylist(Table3).Here,weareforemostinterestedinthedifferences
betweenintra‐andinter‐listsuccess.Comparedtothepanachagemodels(Table2)itstrikesthat
womenandyoungcandidatesarenotmorelikely(althoughalsonotlesslikely)tobecumulated
thantheirpeers.Thus,ourresultspresentafirsthintthatvotersmightstrivefordescriptive
representationviapanachage:seemingly,therearemanyvoterswhocompletetheirlistswith
womenandyoungcandidatesaimingatimprovingtheir(under‐)representationinthenational
parliament.Ontheotherhand,farmersare–again–notonlymorelikelytoreceiveadditional
votes,workersarealsosignificantlylesslikelytobeselected.Furthermore,beinganacademic
seemstoincreasetheelectoralsuccessintermsofvotesreceivedfromcumulation.Allinall,a
candidate’sprofessionorlevelofeducationthusseemstomattersomewhatmoreforintra‐list
competition.
Table3:Determinantsofcumulationsuccess Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Intercept ‐2.888 (0.306)** ‐2.636 (0.308)** ‐2.635 (0.307)**
Canton No. of mandates ‐0.021 (0.013) ‐0.023 (0.012)° ‐0.023 (0.012)° Additional mandate 0.478 (0.269)° 0.475 (0.268)° Mandate Reduction ‐0.1 (0.213) ‐0.096 (0.212) No. of lists ‐0.005 (0.006) 0.029 (0.017) 0.029 (0.017)
Party Vote share 2011 0.208 (0.052)** ‐0.007 (0.006) ‐0.008 (0.006)
List Main 0.157 (0.051)** 0.168 (0.053)** 0.164 (0.053)** Junior 0.010 (0.003)** 0.158 (0.051)** 0.162 (0.051)** Position 0.045 (0.004)** 0.01 (0.003)** 0.010 (0.003)** No. of empty lines on ballot 0.053 (0.016)** 0.044 (0.004)** 0.044 (0.004)** No. of mandates 2011 ‐0.010 (0.001)** 0.05 (0.016)** 0.050 (0.016)**
Candidate Ballot position ‐0.005 (0.006) ‐0.010 (0.001)** ‐0.010 (0.001)** Waiting‐list position ‐0.138 (0.044)** ‐0.135 (0.044)** Incumbent 0.614 (0.024)** 0.530 (0.026)** 0.591 (0.031)** Age 0.000 (0.000) ‐0.001 (0.000) ‐0.001 (0.000) Woman 0.011 (0.010) 0.012 (0.010) 0.012 (0.010) Runs for Council of States 0.297 (0.031)** 0.228 (0.031)** 0.231 (0.031)** Holds political office on municipality level 0.074 (0.018)** 0.075 (0.017)** 0.076 (0.017)** Holds political office on cantonal level 0.179 (0.021)** 0.161 (0.021)** 0.155 (0.021)** Locally anchored 0.031 (0.010)** 0.030 (0.009)** 0.029 (0.009)** Academic 0.022 (0.011)° 0.024 (0.011)* 0.023 (0.011)* Farmer 0.068 (0.024)** 0.088 (0.024)** 0.089 (0.024)** Worker ‐0.062 (0.021)** ‐0.060 (0.021)** ‐0.060 (0.021)**
Campaign No. of advertisements 0.005 (0.001)** 0.009 (0.002)** Share of advertisements on front page 0.093 (0.042)* 0.089 (0.042)* Share of individual advertisements 0.117 (0.033)** 0.109 (0.033)** Share of advertisements in colour 0.003 (0.025) ‐0.007 (0.025) Share of externally funded advertisements 0.065 (0.026)* 0.057 (0.026)* Share of testimonial advertisements 0.120 (0.064)° 0.101 (0.064) Share of event advertisements 0.144 (0.066)* 0.134 (0.066)** Negative campaigning 0.042 (0.055) 0.046 (0.055)
Interactions (Incumbent)x(No. of advertisements) ‐0.007 (0.002)**
Random effect Cantonal‐Level 0.348 0.315 0.312SDs Party‐Level 0.181 0.189 0.190 List‐Level 0.269 0.269 0.270 Residual 0.260 0.256 0.255
Notes:REML‐estimatesfromtheregressionoflogcumulationsuccessondifferentmeasures.NCandidates=3788,NLists=422,NParties=20,NCantons=20;**99%;*95%;°90%.
Intermsofcampaignadvertisements,wecannotdetectstrongdifferencesbetweenthetwosets
ofmodels,althoughingeneral,thecampaigneffectsappeartobeslightlylesscertain.Yet
particularlydisplayinglocaltiesbyinvitingvoterstopre‐electionpartiesorbyincluding
testimonialstopromoteone’svoteseemstoexertlessaneffectonloyalvotersthanonvoters
whochooseanotherpartylistthanthecandidatetheyaddedtothelist.Thesameholdstruefor
oneaspectofthevisibilityofacandidate’scampaign:theimpactofcolouredadvertisementsis
lessimportantforcumulationthanforpanachage.Finally,eveniftheimpactisnotsignificant,a
lookatthefindingsforthenegativeadvertisementsisnoticeablebecauseofthereversalofthe
sign.Whilenegativecampaigningtendstonegativelyinfluencepanachagesuccess,itratheris
rewardingforintra‐partychoice.Wetentativelyassumethatitisthemostextremecandidatesof
agivenlistthatarenegativelyportrayedbyotherparties.Itisthesecandidateshowever,that
mostattractstheownvoters.Ofcourse,theresultsarenotsignificantandthereisonlyveryfew
negativecampaigninginSwitzerland.However,giventhestabilityofallotherresultsthechange
ofsignisworthnoting.
Wemayonlyspeculateaboutthereasonsforthese–allinall–quitesmalldifferences.One
mightbethat,giventhe–onaverage–rathersmalldistrictsizeofSwisscantons,votersalready
knowthecandidatesoftheirpreferredpartylistwhilecandidatesfromotherlistsstillhavethe
possibilitytoattractanalienvoters’interestbymakingthemselvesknownvia(local)electoral
campaigning.Howeverandagainstourexpectations,individualizedcampaigningalsoenhances
thecumulationpotential.Apossiblereasonforthisfindingmightbethewayweoperationalized
ourvariable.Campaignadvertisementssponsoredbyassociationsmightnotnecessarily
underminetheintra‐listpopularityofacandidate,particularlynotiftheassociationstands
ideologicallyclosetothepartylistchosen.Here,amorefine‐grainedoperationalizationof
individualizedcampaigningmighthaveledtodifferentresults.
Discussion
Thispaperfollowsthetraditionofanalysisofelectoralperformanceinansweringthe
fundamentalquestionofwhogetselected.Theopenlist‐systeminSwitzerlandallowsforboth,
gatheringadditionalvotesfrominsideacandidate’sownlist(intra‐list‐votes;socalled
cumulation),aswellasadditionalvotesfromoutsidehisownlist(inter‐list‐votes;socalled
panachage).Ifweconsiderchoosingalistastheideologicalactofvoting,theanalysisofthe
additionalvotes(duetocumulationand/orpanachage)allowsustoexaminethevoting
preferencescontrollingforideologicalaffiliation.Inthissense,weaskwhichfactorsbesides
ideologyvotersexplicitlyorimplicitlyconsidertobeimportantwhenselectingtheircandidates.
Morespecifically,weareinterestedintheeffectsofelectoralcampaigningonthevoterpotential
andadoptanexploratoryapproachtodetectpotentialdifferencesbetweencampaigneffectsfor
cumulativeandpanachagevotes.
Besidesthepotentialtoenrichthediscussionontheconditionsofelectoralsuccessinopen‐list
proportionalsystems,thecomparisonhasamethodologicaladvantage.Otherthanprevious
studies,wefullyexploitthedata’spotentialbymodellingthevotesofanindividualcandidatein
relationtothealternativesavoterwasofferedonthesameaswellasonotherpartylists.
Thecombinationofouruniquedatasetconsistingofcampaignadvertisementspublishedin
morethan50importantnationalandregionalnewspapers(Bühlmannetal.2015)withthe
officialstatisticsofpanachageandcumulation(BFS2016)showthatcampaigningindeedisan
importantfactorforincreasingtheprobabilityofgettingapanachageoracumulationvote.Not
onlythenumberofadvertisementsbutalsotheircontent,i.e.whethertheyshowthecandidate
aloneorpromoteaneventtogettoknowthecandidate,significantlyincreasebothkindsof
additionalvotes.Thesefactorsthereforehelpacandidatestandoutagainstherpartycolleagues
aswellasagainstcandidatesfromotherlists.
Theseresultsareinaccordancewithpreviousstudieswhichhaveshownthatstronger
campaigningactivitiesincreasethefamiliaritywiththecandidates(Biersacketal.1993,
Bonneau2007,Jacobson1990).Thisalsoexplainsthehigherbenefitofcampaignspendingfor
challengerscomparedtoincumbents:theformerarelesswellknownandcanthusintroduce
themselvesviacampaigning.Campaigningthusallowsvoterstolookbeyondwhattheyalready
know,i.e.toconsideralienlistsandlessfamiliarcandidates.
Tosomeextent,however,ourresultsalsochallengehithertofindingsorourownexpectations.
Wehighlightthreepoints:
(1) Whiletheresultconcerningthedifferentimpactofcampaigningforincumbentsand
challengersconcurwithfindingsfromtheUSelections,theydeviatefromfindingsfrom
Belgium(Maddensetal.2006)orBrazil(Samuels2001).ThedifferencesbetweenBelgium/
BrazilandtheUScannotfullybeexplainedbythevotingsystem,giventhatBelgiumand
BrazilaswellasSwitzerlandarecharacterizedasopen‐listPRsystems.Sincethecountry
studiesdifferinseveralterms,suchasdistrictsizeoroperationalizationofourcampaign
variable,werefrainfromattemptstoexplainthesedifferencesatthispoint.Nevertheless,
theseresultsclaimforfurtherinvestigation,atthenationalaswellasattheinternational
level.
(2) Wedidnotdetectlargedifferencesofcampaigninfluencewhencomparingvotesreceived
frompanachage(inter‐listcompetition)totheonesreceivedfromcumulation(intra‐list
competition).Yetagain,itistooearlytodrawdefinitiveconclusions.Alternativemeasures
ofthecontentofacampaign,forexampleasregardsthedegreeofindividualized
campaigning,mighthaveledtodifferentresults.Furthermore,districtsizemightmakea
difference:whilewithincreasingdistrictsize,itbecomesmoredifficulttorememberall
candidatesfromachosenlist,itmightbecomeevenmoredifficulttoremember“alien”
candidates(whichmakesitcomparativelyeasierforthelattertomakethemselvesknown
viacampaigning).
(3) Yettheimportanceofhavingthechoicetoaddcandidatesfromtheselectedaswellas
candidatesfromalienlistswasdemonstratedforothernon‐campaignrelatedfactors.Most
interesting,youngorfemalecandidatesgetsignificantlymorepanachagevotesthanolder
ormalecandidates,whiletherearenosuchdifferencesconcerningcumulationvotes.Many
votersthusactivelysearchforyoungorfemalecandidatesonalienliststocompletethelist
oftheirfirst(ideological)choice.Weassumethatthiscanbeattributedtothe
underrepresentationofsuchcandidatesonmostmainlists.Thisfindingshowsone
advantageofthefullyopenlistsysteminSwitzerland.Whenvotersareallowedtochoose
amongcandidatesnotonlyfromtheirselectedlistbutamonganycandidatefromanylist,
theybenefitfromtheadvantagesofboth,thecandidatecentredmajoritarianaswellasthe
ideologycentredproportionalsystem.Suchasystemseeminglyallowsforboth,descriptive
aswellasideologicalrepresentation.
Ourcontributionsuggestsseveralavenuesforimprovement.First,whileweincludedafair
amountofimportantfactors,therestillaresomeaspectsthatarenotyetconsideredinour
models.Theseareadditionalideologicalfactors:itwouldbeinterestingtocontrolforthe
ideologicaldistancebetweentherecipientanddonorlists(althoughwealreadyslightly
approachthisbycontrollingforlistapparentments)aswellasforthemainissuesofanelection
campaign.Thiswouldofferapossibilitytocomparetheimpactofideologicalaswellasnon‐
ideologicalfactorsonpersonalvotesreceived.Second,itwouldbeworthwhiletoexplorethe
hypothesizedinfluenceofdistrictsizeontheimpactofelectoralcampaigns,asforexampleby
comparingthecampaigneffectsfortheelectionstotheFirstandtheSecondChamber–or
interactingcampaigneffectswithdistrictsize.Third,wecapturedelectoralcampaigningvia
advertisementsplacedinnationalandregionalnewspapers.AlthoughinSwitzerland,
newspapersofferstillanimportant,ifnotthemostimportant,arenaforelectoralcampaigning,
otherchannelsofcampaigninggaininimportance.Mostnotably,socialmedia(seee.g.,Spierings
&Jacobs2014)offerstheopportunityforengaginginanewtypeofcampaigningthatmaynot
onlybecharacterizedbylowercostsbutaswellbyahigherintensityofpoliticaladvertising.
Thus,moreresearchisneededtoinvestigatetheinterplaybetweenideology,candidatefactors
andcampaignstrategiesforvotechoiceandelectoralsuccess.Nevertheless,ourpapershows
thathavingtheopportunity,manyvoterspicktheircherriesnotonlyfromonebutfrom
differenttrees.
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