Suchergebnisse

Official results of local elections are especially interesting when collected at the lowest level possible, to enable analyses of voting behavior on the smallest social unit. In Antwerp, together with the city-level results, the voting results for the city districts are public too. Yet, still no possibility exists to review the official results at the neighborhood level. This lack of data makes it difficult to relate specific neighborhood characteristics to voting behavior in those neighborhoods & to compare them. Thus, to collect the data on neighborhood voting behavior, we organized an exit-poll in 18 neighborhoods of seven districts in Antwerp, during the recent county, local & district elections. This article briefly sketches the exit-poll & its organization & presents the main results. These results will be compared with the formal results on district level, & the neighborhoods will be compared to one another. The results are -- as expected -- slightly biased, although in some districts more than in others. Voting behavior in neighborhoods turns out to vary strongly. We try to explain the voting behavior with the help of several neighborhood characteristics, like the proportion of immigrants & unemployed. The analysis confirms some important correlations, but refutes others. Tables. Adapted from the source document.

An investigation of the impact of individual demographic variables on the decision to vote in the Netherlands. A logit specification is presented that explains the probability that an individual will vote, which is derived from the assumption that an individual will maximize utility in a situation of choosing between two alternatives. Comparing results from five separate election years reveals that analysis based on only one year depends strongly on the year chosen. Thus, pooled data from these five years is analyzed & compared to results from similar studies. It is concluded that higher income, education, subjective social category, age, & f of church attendance all positively influence voting behavior; being a member of a trade union or a public bureaucrat also makes voting more likely. 3 Tables, 12 References. Modified HA

Analysis of the results of three municipal district council elections in May 1984 in Rotterdam (Netherlands) reveals that the unemployed vote considerably less frequently than do the employed, a finding supported by past research. Examination of intervening variables reveals that unemployment most notably affects the f of voting for autochthonous voters of Dutch origin, particularly those with only primary school education; age has no significant influence. Unemployed persons who do vote show a deviant voting pattern in that they support the Dutch social-democratic party (PvdA) more than does the average voter. Though results provide a social-psychological picture of the average unemployed, the influence of politics & the political culture have not been investigated. Further research is suggested on the political involvement of the unemployed. 13 Tables, 1 Figure. Modified HA

The relationship between voters' perceptions of party leaders' personality traits & their subsequent party identification & voting behavior was examined in the Nov 1981 Belgian national elections based on evaluations made by 201 voters of 4 well-known leaders of the main Flemish political parties. Factor analysis reveals 3 main dimensions of personality traits -- reliability, expertness, & self-control -- & 4 types of voters -- convinced, policy-oriented, routine, & indifferent. Party leaders' personality traits variably affected voting behavior depending on voter type. Overall, the personality profiles of each leader were quite similar; however, Rs identified with a certain party tended to rate politicians from that party more favorably, particularly on reliability & attractiveness dimensions. 6 Tables, 1 Figure. Modified HA

In national elections the results tend to become more 'nationalized': a homogeneous party offer all over the territory, less variation in the results per constituency & more homogeneous electoral swings. This article investigates whether this nationalization can also be witnessed at local elections. It focuses on two indicators: the party offer & the voting behavior. The party offer is the presence of the national parties on the local ballot paper, while the voting behavior looks at patterns of homogeneity across the municipalities. The answer to the question of nationalization is mixed. The Flemish & Walloon local elections display the same long-term trend as the national elections, but they keep their own local character. The heterogeneity of the local party offer clearly demonstrates the local specificity of the local elections, & consequently the voting behavior also differs from the voting behavior at national elections. We also find that the local elections in Wallonia are less nationalized than in Flanders. Although the local character of the local elections remains important, the newer parties -- Ecolo & Groen! -- show until 2000 a clear trend towards nationalization. Especially the extreme right Vlaams Belang shows positive scores on all indicators of nationalization since its first local appearance in 1982. Tables, Figures. Adapted from the source document.

A quantitative evaluation of shifts in the voting patterns of the Flemish population from the 1981 to the 1985 national elections in relation to sex, age, & occupational status. Mobility tables are calculated using statistical information from poll surveys & the results of the elections. The results of the analysis, using loglinear modeling, correspondence analysis, & cluster analysis, reveal significant shifts between the different parties, & indicate that sex of voter has no significant influence on voting behavior. 3 Tables, 9 Figures. Modified HA

In the last twenty years, a lot has changed in the process of European integration. The direct competence of the EU in many areas continues to increase without doing them the way we've always done them. In other words, the European train is hurtling full speed ahead. Adapted from the source document.

In the scientific literature emphasizes how to observe in recent decades an increase in electoral volatility. However, this finding contradicts the classical theories of voting behavior, which emphasize the importance of social cleavages and thus just more stability in party choice for drafting. However, many volatile electorate shift cited related to an ideological party and it is often used as an argument to support the continued importance of this fault line theories. Volatile voters in this vision still bound by their ideology and make an informed choice. Moreover'm changing party often within an ideological block interpreted as a choice driven by strategic considerations. Adapted from the source document.

Results from the 1986 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands are examined to assess the impact on voting behavior of several major factors: pillarization, based on religion & SC; issues; candidate orientations; & ideology. The importance of religion & SC has declined since the 1950s, with religious voters supporting secular parties & secular voters also supporting religious parties, especially the Christian Democrats. Issues & economic ideology are strongly related to party choice; candidate orientations also have some influence. Each of these perspectives explains part of voter behavior; together they yield two discriminant functions, one correlated with Left-Right orientation, various political issues, & support for various candidates, the other with religiosity & abortion attitudes. Together, these discriminant functions correctly classify 52% of voters by party preferences. 20 Tables, 2 Figures. Modified HA

On 13 June 1999, elections for the regional Parliaments, the federal Parliament (both House of Representatives & Senate), & the European Parliament were held in Belgium. The % of voters casting a preferential vote at these elections was the highest ever in Belgian history. On average, 60.9% of the electorate expressed their preference for one or more candidates. Although voters have the possibility to cast a multiple preferential vote (ie, a vote for several candidates figuring on the same party list), this possibility is not used very much: a voter who cast a preferential vote only voted on average for 1.73 candidates. The further increase in preferential votes was a little surprising since strong limitations were imposed on campaign expenditures & on commercial support. Political & social factors, eg, individualism, antiparty feelings, & mediatization, seem to have had a stronger impact on preferential voting than these material limitations. The use of the preferential vote varies from one constituency to another, from Flemings to Walloons, & from one party to another. There were some notable changes: the gap between the voters of the extreme-Right Vlaams Blok & the green parties Agalev & Ecolo, who traditionally cast less preferential votes, & voters of other parties, has diminished. Another important change is the decrease of preferential voting in some constituencies in Wallonia. As for the Senate & the European Parliament, more Flemings than Walloons now cast a preferential vote. The large constituencies used for these elections seem to attract very well-known politicians & as a consequence also many preferential votes in Flanders. Despite the increase in preferential voting, the order of the list composed by the party remained in most cases decisive whether or not a candidate was elected. 20 Tables, 1 Figure. Adapted from the source document.