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Using Campaign Communications to Analyze Civility in Ranked Choice Voting Elections
[journal article]
Abstract Theory suggests that ranked choice voting (RCV) may create a more civil campaign environment. As voters must rank candidates, the candidates have an incentive to work with each other more collaboratively. This study uses text analysis software (LIWC) to examine candidate tweets and newspaper articl... view more
Theory suggests that ranked choice voting (RCV) may create a more civil campaign environment. As voters must rank candidates, the candidates have an incentive to work with each other more collaboratively. This study uses text analysis software (LIWC) to examine candidate tweets and newspaper articles in RCV versus specifically‐chosen plurality cities for evidence of positivity or negativity. In quantitatively comparing the tweets, the results are mixed among the cities. Qualitatively, candidates seem to be more likely to engage each other in RCV cities than in plurality cities. Using LIWC to analyze newspaper articles for campaign tone, one can see that RCV city articles have significantly more positive than negative words. This is the first published study to use direct campaign communication data to study RCV elections and campaign civility. This research validates survey research indicating that citizens perceive RCV campaigns are more civil.... view less
Keywords
electoral system; text analysis; content analysis; social media; newspaper; election campaign; software
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count; Twitter; civility; content analysis; ranked choice voting; sentiment analysis; text analysis
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 280-292
Journal
Politics and Governance, 9 (2021) 2
Issue topic
The Politics, Promise and Peril of Ranked Choice Voting
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed