Electoral Behavior in Elections

Elections and Electoral Behavior

2012 election is gaining traction as the most influential election of the last 60 years. With a stumbling economy and torrents of debt, voters go to the polls in 11 months with a decision to make on the trajectory of the country, however; will voters be presented with candidates representing the fundamental changes that are required? Likewise with the Eurozone under heavy duress from sovereign debt crises, economic pressures have already forced leadership changes in governments from Greece to Italy. Voters will go to the polls in 2012 across Europe in an attempt to change the complexion of their respective nation. In this context, votes in 2012 represent a fundamental check on governmental accountability to their policy measures. As such there is utility in uncovering what variables influence voter decision, and how citizens can overcome institutional and Critical Variables in Electorate Decision Making

One of the fundamental similarities in the U.S. And Europe election cycles in 2010-2012 has been the returning impact of "social cleavage voting-voting that reflects economic, religious, linguistic, ethnic, and other interests" (Miller, W. & Niemi, R. 2002. P. 170). Messrs. Miller and Niemi cite a decline in such voting across Europe and the U.S. particularly among economic class voting; "so by the 1990s, the 20 countries had slowly converged into a situation where class was relatively unimportant to voting behavior" (Miller, W. & Niemi, R. 2002. P. 170). Yet now the economic crisis of 2008 to the present has returned this class debate to the forefront. The one percent versus 99% represents this bifurcation in the U.S., while Europe wrestles with entitlement voters at odds with the existing workers and producers. On a grander scale the European picture is one of the profligate Euro (Greece and Portugal) states matched against the parsimonious stalwart: Germany. The voter is grappling with an economic landscape that has seen income inequality increase, with the elites enjoying prosperity; while the middle class hemorrhages wealth and loses income.

The economic variable is the most prominent short-term factor which affects the voter however, equally pressing is the "long-term predisposition" (Miller, W. & Niemi, R. 2002. P. 170) of the voter concerning; "an egalitarian/free-market values dimension that contrasts egalitarian or socialist vs. laissez-faire or free-market values" (Miller, W. & Niemi, R. 2002. P. 172). Voters in Europe and The U.S. are confronted with this polemical; the social democracy governed by a redistribution mentality, or the allure of capitalism and wealth creation despite its penchant for gyrations and economic uncertainty. The coming elections have at their core these fundamental choices based on both short-term and long-term factors, yet will voters have the ability, tools, or option to cast a vote representative of their belief and values?

Demobilization, Emotional Identification, and Deficient Information