Convincing Voters: An experiment in the Canton of Schaffhausen

Abstract

This study analyses three different fictitious political communication designs related to two votings in the canton of Schaffhausen (Velo-Initiative and Hornkuh-Initiative). An online questionnaire addressing citizens’ evaluations on these designs and their impact on voting behavior was administered. The data was analysed using Gerber’s Big Five of Long-Term Characterization (2011). The analysis suggests that political campaigns can reduce uncertainty, but could not confirm that a strategy correlates specifically with an opinion change among swing or party voters.

Keywords

• Political communication
• voting behavior