Positive and Negative Party Cues Vs. Policy Information: Drivers of Vote Intention in Direct Democracy

This study examines the interplay between party cues and policy information in shaping voting intentions within the context of Swiss direct democracy, with particular emphasis on the underexplored impact of negative cues. Negative cues, defined as voting recommendations from a citizen’s least favored political party, offer a unique lens to understand how aversion drives voter behavior, in contrast to positive cues, which reflect alignment with preferred parties. Using experimental data from Switzerland’s 2023 referendum on climate protection and energy security (N=3,555), the research investigates how exposure to positive and negative cues, policy arguments (supportive or opposing), and their combinations influence voting decisions. The findings reveal that both positive and negative party cues significantly shape voting intentions, with negative cues exerting stronger effects. Notably, policy information interacts with these cues, underscoring its critical role in moderating the reliance on heuristics. This study contributes to understand voter heuristics and motivated reasoning in direct democracy by highlighting how both party-driven and policy-driven influences operate. The findings stress the importance of providing substantive policy information to counterbalance the effects of party cues, ensuring informed decision-making in democratic systems where citizens vote directly on key policy issues.