Authors

• Borg, Sami (University of Tampere. Faculty of Management)
• Nurmela, Sakari (Kantar TNS Finland)
• Pehkonen, Juhani (Kantar TNS Finland)

Keywords

election campaigns, elections, electoral candidates, political attitudes, political behaviour, political interest, presidential candidates, presidential elections, voting, voting advice applications, voting behaviour

Abstract

The survey studied voting behaviour in the 2018 presidential elections in Finland. The data were collected just after the elections.

Next, the respondents were asked whether their opinions of each of the presidential candidates had changed during the first round of the elections. Voting behaviour in the presidential elections was investigated by asking which candidate the respondents had voted for in the first round of the elections, which candidate they would have voted for as a second choice, and at which stage they had made their final choice. The respondents' voting behaviour was also charted with a series of attitudinal statements. The respondents were asked which factors had influenced their choice of candidate, from which information sources they had received information concerning their decision, which of the candidates they had considered voting for, and to what extent certain factors (e.g. candidate's party affiliation, information from voting advice applications) had influenced their voting decision.

Views on the power of the president in foreign and security policy, matters concerning the EU, and in domestic policy were charted. The respondents' opinions on politics were surveyed with a series of attitudinal statements (e.g. politicians do not care about the opinions of ordinary people, voting advice applications give a good indication of the values that candidates represent). Voting intentions in three upcoming elections (county elections 2018, parliamentary elections 2019, elections of the European Parliament 2019) were also investigated. Those who had not voted in the presidential elections were asked about their reasons for not voting, when they had decided to not vote in the first round of the presidential elections, and who they would have voted for if they had had to vote.

Finally, the respondents were asked about their internet use, whether they had followed opinion polls before the presidential elections and whether opinion polls had affected their voting behaviour. Views on opinions polls were further examined with a series of attitudinal statements (e.g. opinion polls increase interest in politics and elections, opinion polls are a good source of information for voters).

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, statistical grouping of municipalities, left-right political self-placement, membership in a federation of trade unions, highest education level, household's annual gross income, and economic activity and occupational status.