towns or cities
Youth 21 was an experimental study that exclusively focused on pre-voters aged 15 to 18 to empirically test and measure the impact of multi-vote vs. one-vote election options on the decision-making process and election outcome. The study was conducted during the last stage of the 2018 presidential election in the Czech Republic using actual presidential candidates in its two-stage pseudo election exercises. Both stages were conducted at the participants’ schools with help of volunteers. In total 352 subjects from 12 high schools participated in the study. Since high schools in the Czech Republic are divided virtually equally into two categories, Gymnasiums and Vocations (schools with different professional orientation), researchers invited students from six of each to take part in the study. Data was collected in eight cities in three regions.
During each stage the participants were asked to cast preferences for the nine presidential candidates, first just with one vote, using the “One-Vote” method, and then with the “Multi-Vote” (MV) method. For research purposes, the Multi-Vote scheme used in the study was a modification of Janecek Method (D21), where a voter could use “plus” and “minus” votes. However, different from Janecek Method (D21), researchers limited the total number of votes to only three and allowed voters to use any distribution of plus and minus votes at their discretion.
During a two-day gap between the stages the subjects were exposed to a treatment, an intervention mechanism with a knowledge-based content delivery on the presidential candidates and MV method. This was meant to ensure that the participants’ votes accurately reflected their choices while the limitation of knowledge and awareness did not impact their voting behaviour.
To learn more about the study, please contact Tanya Gibbs, Chief Research Officer.