Replication Data for: More Options, but Less Willing to Cast a Valid Vote: Evidence from Electoral Reform in Chile

How do large-magnitude proportional systems affect invalid voting? We evaluate a Chilean electoral system reform that introduced proportionality. Voting is voluntary, and legislative and presidential elections are held concurrently. We compare the invalid votes between different types of elections before and after the reform using various difference-in-differences strategies. We find that invalid voting increased in legislative compared to presidential elections (pre-trends were parallel). The increase in invalid voting is greater in post-reform districts with higher magnitude and is not due to pre-reform district characteristics. The results of heterogeneity analyses and a survey experiment suggest the mechanism behind these findings is the cognitive burden associated with a longer ballot. This research highlights an understudied aspect of electoral systems: higher district magnitudes may be demobilizing in terms of valid voting for citizens who are more vulnerable to cognitive burden, even among those motivated enough to vote in the first-order election.大幅值比例代表制如何影响无效投票？本研究评估了智利一项引入比例代表制的选举制度改革。该背景下投票为自愿行为，议会选举与总统选举同步举行。研究采用多种双重差分法（Difference-in-Differences）策略，对比了改革前后不同类型选举中的无效投票情况。结果显示，与总统选举相比，议会选举中的无效投票率有所上升（事前趋势平行）。在改革后选区规模更高的地区，无效投票率的增幅更大，且该现象并非由改革前的选区特征所导致。异质性分析（Heterogeneity Analysis）与调查实验（Survey Experiment）的结果表明，上述发现背后的机制是更长选票所带来的认知负担。本研究揭示了选举制度中一个尚未被充分探讨的面向：对于更易受认知负担影响的选民而言，更高的选区规模可能会削弱其参与有效投票的积极性，即便这些选民原本有足够动机参与首要选举的投票。