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Ballot Structure, Candidate Race, and Vote Choice in Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Rosario Aguilar ,
Saul Cunow ,
Scott Desposato  and
Leonardo Sangali Barone
Rosario Aguilar
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Mexico City
Saul Cunow
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
Scott Desposato
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
Leonardo Sangali Barone
Affiliation:
Fundação Getúlio Vargas
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Abstract

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Although racial injustice and inequality are widely acknowledged in Brazil, recent experimental research concludes that citizens there do not rely on racial cues when voting. In this article, we test for the impact of candidate race on vote choice. We find evidence of identity-based voting in Brazil that interacts with ballot size. When facing a short ballot with only a few candidates, most subjects chose candidates without regard to race or color. But when presented with a large ballot with many candidates, white and brown subjects show a significant preference for same-race candidates. Self-identified black subjects, however, demonstrated a strong and consistent preference for black candidates regardless of choice set size. These results are particularly important given Brazil's electoral rules that provide voters with overwhelming numbers of candidates from which to choose.

Resumo

Resumo

Ainda que se reconheça amplamente a existência de desigualdade e injustiça racial no Brasil, pesquisas e experimentos recentes concluíram que eleitores brasileiros não levam em conta aspectos raciais ao votar. Neste artigo, testamos o impacto da raça dos candidatos na decisão do voto. Encontramos evidência de voto identitário no Brasil em interação com o número de candidatos em disputa. Em face de uma escolha entre poucos candidatos, a maioria dos participantes desta pesquisa não leva cor ou raça em consideração. Entretanto, quando é oferecido aos participantes um número grande de candidatos, eleitores brancos e pardos preferem candidatos de mesma cor ou raça que a sua. Por outro lado, participantes que se identificam como negros preferem candidatos negros a despeito da quantidade de candidatos que lhes é oferecido. Esses resultados sao particularmente importantes uma vez que as regras eleitorais brasileiras resultam em um número muito grande de candidatos.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , 2015 , pp. 175 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

Theauthors thank Dr. George Avelino ofthe Fundaçãao Getulio Vargas for supportand suggestions,as well as Eduardo Sato, Jaqueline Zulini, Marina Marcola, and Juliana Bueno for terrific fieldwork and survey implementation. Funding was provided bya UCSD Committeeon ResearchGrant.

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