TY - JOUR

T1 - It's a Group Thing

T2 - How Voters go to the Polls Together

AU - Bhatti, Yosef

AU - Fieldhouse, Edward

AU - Hansen, Kasper M.

PY - 2020/3

Y1 - 2020/3

N2 - Across European Parliament, local and general elections in Denmark between half and three quarters of voters in households with multiple voters cast their vote within a minute of another household member. This finding, revealed using data from a time-stamped voter panel covering more than two million Danish voters, establishes that many families visit the polling station together. The result are replicated using survey data from Denmark, the UK and a range of other countries, indicating that voting together is a widespread phenomenon, supporting the characterization of voting as a social act. For the first time our analysis reveals that acquiring a potential voting partner increases turnout, whilst losing one decreases turnout.

AB - Across European Parliament, local and general elections in Denmark between half and three quarters of voters in households with multiple voters cast their vote within a minute of another household member. This finding, revealed using data from a time-stamped voter panel covering more than two million Danish voters, establishes that many families visit the polling station together. The result are replicated using survey data from Denmark, the UK and a range of other countries, indicating that voting together is a widespread phenomenon, supporting the characterization of voting as a social act. For the first time our analysis reveals that acquiring a potential voting partner increases turnout, whilst losing one decreases turnout.

KW - Turnout

KW - Social norms

KW - Political participation

KW - UK

KW - Denmark

KW - TURNOUT

KW - FAMILY

KW - PARTICIPATION

KW - MOBILIZATION

KW - HOUSEHOLD

KW - CONTEXT

M3 - Journal article

VL - 42

SP - 1

EP - 34

JO - Political Behavior

JF - Political Behavior

SN - 0190-9320

IS - 1

ER -