Hi, I am looking for some empirical data (survey) dealing with public (or expert) confidence in electoral system(s) (preferably data on the trust in systems' mechanisms, not the whole electoral process - but it depends on the formulation of the question)... any suggestions? Thank you in advance.
This article refers to a study by Alvarez et al. that addresses your question in U.S. I'm not sure whether you're looking for international data. http://www.psmag.com/navigation/politics-and-law/do-americans-trust-their-voting-system-4149/
Hi, thank you for your response! I really appreciate it! I know this study, however, I think it focuses rather on the process - if voters feel their votes are being counted as intended... I got a feeling that in behind of this question they ask rather to voters' trust in EMB or electoral officers than to the system's mechanism.... I would prefer some study dealing with the confidence with certain electoral system type - plurality/majoritarian or proportional (or their variations)... But once again, thank you for your tip :)
Hi Ivan. In addition to publications by Christopher Anderson (on "losers' consent), you might want to look at the data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES). These are available online at no cost. It is possible to address your question at least to some degree using these data. I have an unpublished paper that looked not so much at "losers" of elections but at ethnic minorities: does the electoral formula, e.g., PR vs. SMD, matter for the sense of inclusion or confidence in electoral outcomes or the political system by ethnic/racial minorities. This uses CSES data. Kathy Dowley and I hope to re-do and to complete this paper at some point. It is included here on ResearchGate and can be downloaded here: Political Institutions and Minority Group Perceptions of Democracy. It might give you some ideas.
Great, thank you once again, I will definitely check it! Your paper's topic reminds me Kiril Kolev's article in Electoral Studies "The contingent effect of institutions: Electoral formulas, ethnic polarization, and election quality" - where he tests similar independent variables, however on the different dependent variable (quality of elections)... I am just thinking about one thing - if Kolev had measured his DV as public perceptions of the overall quality of elections (as some scholars do), there would have been maybe a small overlap with your paper... but as I said - i need to check your paper as well :)
Thanks for the tip. As you will note, our unpublished paper is several years old. I will look at Kolev's article as well as other literature that has appeared since we presented that paper.
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