Authors

• Nurmela, Sakari (Kantar TNS Finland)
• Pehkonen, Juhani (Kantar TNS Finland)
• Borg, Sami (Tampere University)

Keywords

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

Abstract

The survey studied voting behaviour in the 2019 parliamentary elections in Finland. The data were collected just after the elections.

First, a number of questions charted the respondents' use of and attitude towards candidate selectors / voting advice applications. The respondents were also asked whether they had followed election reporting, campaigning and advertising in different media (including the social media such as Facebook). Views were probed on the election campaigns of different parties. Other questions covered which parties' or candidates' advertisements the respondents had seen on TV and what was their attitude towards political advertising on TV, in newspapers, on the internet, and on social media.

Voting behaviour was investigated by asking whether the respondents had voted in the parliamentary elections just held, which party they had voted for and whether the candidate or the party had been more important in the choice. Information sources used for the voting choice were studied. Those who had voted were asked why they voted, which factors and issues had influenced their candidate choice, and at which stage they had made their final choice. The respondents who had voted were also asked whether they had considered voting for candidates from any of the other parties, and which parties they in general would consider voting for. Those who had not voted were asked which factors (e.g. 'I had trouble finding a suitable candidate for myself”, 'I am not at all interested in politics”) had contributed to that decision. One question focused on the performance of party leaders during the campaign.

The respondents were asked whether they intended to vote in the 2019 European Parliament elections and which party/group the candidate they intended to vote for was from. The respondents' interest in the 2019 parliamentary elections and the European Parliament elections was investigated. Additionally, the respondents were asked whether they had voted in the 2017 municipal elections and which party/group they had voted for.

Views were probed on acceptable measures to sustain public sector economy. Measures mentioned included, for instance, raising taxes, cutting retirement benefits or selling public sector property. Attitudes towards the role of politics in Finnish society were charted with various attitudinal statements (e.g. 'I have no say in what the government and parliament decide”, 'Sometimes politics seems so complicated that I don't really understand what's going on”). The respondents' opinions on which issues and objectives (e.g. increasing the birth rate, reducing income inequality, outsourcing public services) should be prioritised by the newly elected government were investigated. On the topic of the future of social and health services, the respondents were asked what solutions (e.g. special regional or county taxation, elected regional or county councils) would be needed to secure these services in the future. Finally, the respondents' views on social welfare reform were surveyed with a series of attitudinal statements (e.g. 'No social welfare reform is needed, we are doing fine without reforms”, 'I don't care how social and health services are organised in our country, as long as people have access to care”).

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