Replication Data for: The Civic Option? Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Consuming Information in Local Elections

Political parties and civic organizations disseminate information to improve citizen decision making in local elections. Do citizens choose to consume such information and, if so, how does it affect their decisions? We conduct a survey experiment during a real-world local election that randomly assigns 1) political party endorsements, 2) a voter guide, 3) no information, or 4) a choice among these options. Respondents assigned to receive party endorsements and a voter guide are more likely than respondents receiving no information to choose candidates who share their policy views. When given a choice, a majority opts to receive information (including many with low levels of political interest), with most respondents preferring a voter guide. Using an instrumental variable approach, we show that the effect of information on those who choose to receive it is substantial. These results offer hope that voter education efforts can succeed despite widespread political disinterest.各政党与公民组织会传播相关信息，旨在助力选民在地方选举中做出更理性的决策。那么，选民是否会主动获取这类信息？若确实获取，该信息又会如何影响其选举决策？我们在一场真实的地方选举期间开展了一项调查实验，通过随机分配四种实验处理：1）政党背书（political party endorsements），2）选民指南（voter guide），3）不提供任何信息，或4）允许受访者自行选择上述信息类型。结果显示，相较于未获得任何信息的受访者，被分配获取政党背书与选民指南的受访者，更倾向于选择与自身政策立场一致的候选人。当允许自主选择时，绝大多数受访者（包括诸多政治关注度较低的群体）都会选择获取信息，且多数受访者更偏好选民指南。我们借助工具变量法（instrumental variable approach）分析发现，信息获取对主动选择获取信息的受访者的决策影响显著。本研究结果表明，即便普遍存在政治冷漠现象，选民教育工作仍有望取得成效。