Political Knowledge and the Logic of Voting: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This paper will examine the decision making process by which individual voters cast their ballots. In particular, it will discuss two traditional explanations of electoral behaviour: ideological voting and performance voting. These explanations of voting share a common assumption: electors’ decisions are based on what they expect to get from their choice. Each potential outcome has a benefit or a cost, and citizens might choose the one benefiting them most or costing them least. That is, voters will maximize the utility of their electoral decision. In order to maximize the utility of a given decision an individual needs to have a certain amount of information at hand.