Authors

• Borg, Sami (University of Tampere)

Keywords

elections, political behaviour, political support, presidential elections, voting, voting behaviour

Abstract

The dataset is the second part of a survey studying voter opinions on polling, and the impact of polling on the 1994 Finnish presidential elections. The respondents were asked what they remembered of the presidential elections apart from the final result (e.g. polls, exit polls, television appearances of the candidates, female candidates did not get selected). They were also asked whether they had voted in the first and second rounds of the presidential elections, whom they had voted for, and whether they had used tactical voting against some candidate. One theme pertained to what kind of an impact certain polls published just before the election had had on the respondent's choice of candidate.

Some questions focused on the accuracy of polls and publishing issues: error margins, impact of polls on voters, should there be a ban on publishing poll ratings in the period leading up to the election, length of the eventual ban, etc. The respondents were asked about the preferred number of early voting days.

The respondents were asked what political party they would vote for if the parliamentary elections were held at that time, and whether Finland should join the European Union or not.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, basic and occupational education, economic activity, province of residence, and municipality type.