Series: Working Papers. 1623.
Author: Carlos Sanz.
Published in: Political Science Research and Methods, Vol. 5, Issue 4, October 2017, pp. 689-710
Awarded the 2017/18 Political Science Research and Methods Best Paper Award.
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Abstract
I exploit the unique institutional framework of Spanish local elections, where municipalities follow different electoral systems depending on their population size, as mandated by a national law. Using a regression discontinuity design, I compare turnout under closed-list proportional representation and under an open-list, plurality-at-large system where voters can vote for individual candidates from the same or different party lists. I find that the openlist system increases turnout by between one and two percentage points. The results suggest that open-list systems, which introduce competition both across and within parties, are conducive to greater voter turnout.