In this article, we examine the effect of “choice fatigue” on decision making. We exploit a
natural experiment in which voters face the same contest at different ballot positions due to …

When popular referendums fail to ratify new international agreements or succeed in
reversing existing ones, it not only affects domestic voters but also creates negative …

Regression-based studies of inequality model only between-group differences, yet often
these differences are far exceeded by residual inequality. Residual inequality is usually …

Democratic accountability relies on the ability of citizens to reward and punish politicians in
elections. Electoral institutions, such as the timing of elections, may play a powerful role in …

This paper evaluates whether direct democracy supplements or undermines traditional
representative democracy. While a first approach assumes that a culture of active direct …

In the first study of comparative direct-democracy, Laurent Bernhard explores the nature of
direct-democratic campaigning in Switzerland. The author examines four policy areas …

Using individual data on Swiss federal ballots (VOX data) and an original dataset on the
evolution and content of political campaigns, this article elucidates how negative …

Direct democracy may impose significant information demands on voters, especially when
individual propositions are highly complex. Yet, it remains theoretically ambiguous how …

The widespread second-order view on subnational elections leaves little room for the idea
that subnational election campaigns matter for national-level electoral preferences. I …

This paper reassesses the claim that electronic voting systems help voters to avoid common
mistakes that lead to their votes remaining uncounted. While prior studies have come to …