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                                                    American Political Science Review

                                                    Article contents

                                                    A Theory of Voting Equilibria

                                                    Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

                                                    Roger B. Myerson  and
                                                    Robert J. Weber
                                                    Roger B. Myerson
                                                    Affiliation:
                                                    Northwestern University
                                                    Robert J. Weber
                                                    Affiliation:
                                                    Northwestern University
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                                                    Abstract

                                                    A voting equilibrium arises when the voters in an electorate, acting in accordance with both their preferences for the candidates and their perceptions of the relative chances of various pairs of candidates being in contention for victory, generate an election result that justifies their perceptions. Voting equilibria always exist, and the set of equilibria can vary substantially with the choice of voting system. We compare equilibria under the plurality rule, approval voting, and the Borda system. We consider a candidate-positioning game and find that the plurality rule imposes little restriction on the position of the winning candidate in three-candidate races, while approval voting leads to a winner positioned at the median of the voter distribution. We contrast campaign activities intended to influence voter preferences with activities meant to influence only perceptions of candidate viability.

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                                                    American Political Science Review , Volume 87 , Issue 1 , March 1993 , pp. 102 - 114
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                                                    Copyright © American Political Science Association 1993

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                                                    Myerson, Roger B. 1993. Incentives to Cultivate Favored Minorities Under Alternative Electoral Systems. American Political Science Review, Vol. 87, Issue. 4, p. 856.
                                                    Brams, Steven J. and Merrill, Samuel 1994. Would Ross Perot Have Won the 1992 Presidential Election Under Approval Voting?. PS: Political Science & Politics, Vol. 27, Issue. 1, p. 39.
                                                    Cox, Gary W. 1994. Strategic Voting Equilibria under the Single Nontransferable Vote. American Political Science Review, Vol. 88, Issue. 3, p. 608.
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                                                    Myerson, Roger B 1995. Analysis of Democratic Institutions: Structure, Conduct and Performance. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 9, Issue. 1, p. 77.
                                                    Weber, Robert J 1995. Approval Voting. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 9, Issue. 1, p. 39.
                                                    Forsythe, Robert Rietz, Thomas Myerson, Roger and Weber, Robert 1996. An experimental study of voting rules and polls in three-candidate elections. International Journal of Game Theory, Vol. 25, Issue. 3, p. 355.
                                                    Besley, T. and Coate, S. 1997. An Economic Model of Representative Democracy. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 112, Issue. 1, p. 85.
                                                    Hsieh, John Fuh-Sheng M.S., Niou Emerson and Paolino, Philip 1997. Strategic voting in the 1994 Taipei City mayoral election. Electoral Studies, Vol. 16, Issue. 2, p. 153.
                                                    Fey, Mark 1997. Stability and Coordination in Duverger's Law: A Formal Model of Preelection Polls and Strategic Voting. American Political Science Review, Vol. 91, Issue. 1, p. 135.
                                                    Gerber, Elisabeth R. Morton, Rebecca B. and Rietz, Thomas A. 1998. Minority Representation in Multimember Districts. American Political Science Review, Vol. 92, Issue. 1, p. 127.
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                                                    Rietz, Thomas A. Myerson, Roger B. and Weber, Robert J. 1998. Campaign Finance Levels as Coordinating Signals in Three-Way, Experimental Elections. SSRN Electronic Journal ,
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