Bloc Voting for Electoral Accountability

How do citizens hold local politicians accountable? I argue that citizens, especially through neighborhood associations, can use bloc voting as a bottom-up, grassroots strategy to pressure politicians for public services. Politicians monitor polling station voting, and communities switch allegiance...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American political science review 2024-08, Vol.118 (3), p.1222-1239
Main Author: COOPERMAN, ALICIA DAILEY
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Accountability
Allegiance
Brokers
Bureaucrats
Candidates
Citizen Participation
Citizens
Collective action
Community
Community Characteristics
Community Involvement
Coordination
Democracy
Developing countries
Election results
Elections
Field study
Grass roots movement
Group Dynamics
Hypotheses
Investment
LDCs
Leaders
Local elections
Manipulation
Neighborhoods
Political leadership
Politicians
Politics
Public opinion surveys
Public Service
Public services
Rural areas
Rural Population
Social exclusion
Socioeconomic factors
Voters
Voting
Water
Water supply
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Summary:How do citizens hold local politicians accountable? I argue that citizens, especially through neighborhood associations, can use bloc voting as a bottom-up, grassroots strategy to pressure politicians for public services. Politicians monitor polling station voting, and communities switch allegiance if politicians do not deliver. I measure the perceived and actual relationships between community characteristics, bloc voting, and water access—an essential resource prone to political manipulation. I analyze an original household survey and conjoint experiment merged with electoral data in rural Brazil, and qualitative interviews illustrate theoretical mechanisms. Bloc voting is more likely in communities with high trust and participation, and bloc voting improves water access for association members. However, this strategy is only worthwhile for communities that can demonstrate their vote at their polling station. In contrast to top-down explanations of bloc voting, I highlight the interaction of collective action and electoral institutions for accountability and public service provision.
ISSN:0003-0554
1537-5943
DOI:10.1017/S0003055423000989