What Factors Influence The Way You Vote?

What is it that affects how we vote?

Norway’s political system is largely democratic, as representatives in the Government and the Storting are indirectly elected by majority vote through candidate lists nominated by the parties. We trust these politicians with our interests, and therefore they are responsible for representing them.

But what makes us prefer one candidate over another? The simplest answer is that we choose those who we believe will best defend our interests. But if you start to look a little deeper, you will realize that it is not really that simple.

Social and political psychology has broadly examined the factors that affect our voice. These studies reveal some interesting facts: it seems that voice stability and identification with a particular party are the most important factors in a person’s political voice. Ideology hardly counts if you compare how much influence these other two factors have.

Voice stability

One of the most important aspects of voting behavior is stability over time. When a person votes for a political party, they tend to vote for the same party in future elections. This pattern tends to remain stable regardless of the party’s political tendencies, candidate or type of election (national or local).

While most are consistent with their voice, others are not. What factors affect how stable a person’s voice will be? Studies show that people who lean to the right are less likely to change their voice.

The continuation of the division of right and left, makes it easier for people to change their vote to parties that are closer to them on the spectrum of the last one they voted for. People who voted for a party on the right last time are more likely to do so next time. And the same with the left.

These results show that the process of political socialization is in fact what lies behind electoral stability. It is a process in which parties gain loyal members despite changes in the party.

The party’s traditional political ideology is more important than the specific platform they present in specific elections. This process of political socialization leads to an important concept known as party identification.

Party identification

Party identification is defined as a psychological connection between a person and a political party that involves a sense of group identity. Through various methods, such as symbols, slogans and group events, parties can create such a strong sense of unity among their constituents that it offsets ideological differences within the group.

But how important is party identification in relation to the individual’s own ideology to determine his vote? In 2009, a survey was conducted in Spain to determine how much individuals shared the ideology of their political party.

The results were quite surprising:

• Those who voted for the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) and the PP (People’s Party) shared less than 50% of the party’s ideology.
• Those who voted for IU (United Left) shared 61%.

This shows that most voters of a particular party do not even share many of the interests and ideologies promoted by the party. How is it possible to identify with a party under such conditions?

The answer lies in the strong propaganda mechanisms the parties use to get people to empathize with others. They make voters feel a sense of belonging to the group. Finally, these mechanisms guarantee their voice in future elections.

It is our civic duty to vote

These results are surprising, given that voters’ ideologies do not always reach the Storting or even the Government. The studies point to a political landscape where the parties capture individuals and create a sense of group identity. And it’s actually more like a sports team than a political affiliation. This translates into a Storting that does not actually represent its voters. Therefore, no policies have been adopted that are in their best interest.

Political education is without a doubt one of the best tools we can use to change this situation. We should all learn to understand politics and laws and how they affect us. Then we have a critical eye when we vote. We would be encouraged to demand answers when the elected officials do not fulfill the promises of the election campaign.

While political measures rarely lead to immediate change, they remain important since they put a country in a certain direction. It has taken us centuries and a lot of blood to achieve democracy and the right to vote. For them to function properly, all citizens must be actively and intelligently involved. You, me and everyone who has the right to vote.