Sophisticated voting in the 1980 presidential election

Abstract

Survey research on the 1980 presidential election does not support the contention that sophisticated voting is employed by voters to avoid their least preferred alternative. Complete preference orderings for Anderson, Carter, and Reagan are inferred from survey responses for a sample of voters. Data analysis focuses on reported vote for preference groups which rank Anderson first, comparing those who voted for Anderson to those who voted for their second choice. Results show that sophisticated voters appear to have voted on the basis of positive aspects of their second most preferred candidate rather than in avoidance of negative aspects of their least preferred candidate.