Autor(es): Patricio Navia
Otro(a)s Autore(a)s: Llorente, T. & Donaire, I. O.
Año: 2025
Revista: Representation
Referencia:
Llorente, T., Navia, P., & Donaire, I. O. (2025). The Sociodemographic and Institutional Determinants of Invalid Voting: Chile, 2005–2023. Representation, 1–17.
Invalid voting is shaped by electoral rules, ballot complexity, and voters’ sociodemographic traits. Studies usually compare countries with different institutional designs or examine single elections to explore determinants of invalid votes. We analyze 31 Chilean elections held between 2005 and 2023 – including presidential, legislative, municipal, primary, and plebiscite contests – conducted with paper ballots under both voluntary and compulsory voting. Using 9,680 municipal-level observations across 345 municipalities, we test six hypotheses. Results show that invalid votes are more frequent under compulsory voting, in districts with higher magnitudes, with more candidates on the ballot, and in municipalities with larger rural populations and lower poverty. We also find that electoral rules, ballot structures, and sociodemographic conditions affect null and blank votes in opposite ways. By examining nearly two decades of elections under shifting voting rules within a single country, this study underscores how institutional design and voter characteristics interact to shape invalid voting.
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