Politics

Half of voters decided on party or candidate in final week of local and European campaigns - study

Survey finds 70% of voters felt level of aggression being displayed to politicians was unacceptable

A post-election online survey of just more than 3,000 voters in the local and European elections has found that a clear majority of voters remained undecided until the final week of the campaigns. Photograph: Paul Faith/Getty Images
Harry McGee
Wed Jul 31 2024 - 19:53

Half of voters in the European elections in June made their final choice on their preferred candidates or party within days of the poll, new data commissioned by the Electoral Commission has found.

A post-election online survey of just more than 3,000 voters in the local and European elections has found that a clear majority of voters remained undecided until the final week of the campaigns.

There was slightly more certainty among voters for the local elections, according to the findings of the Red C online survey. The field work was done in the week following voting on June 7th.

A total of 56 per cent of respondents said they made their mind up on how to vote in the local elections “within a week” of polling day, with 42 per cent of those deciding within a few days of the poll.

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For the European elections, 64 per cent of respondents decided on voting intentions “within a week” – and 50 per cent said they made up their mind “within a few days” – of polling day.

The findings will be received as underlining the importance of the final week of the campaign, especially for the European Elections.

The surveys were conducted as part of the Electoral Commission’s National Election and Democracy Study. Art O’Leary, chief executive of the commission, said: “The study is a longitudinal survey which will paint a rich and accurate picture of voters and voter experience in the years ahead. The results of these surveys will capture developments in people’s thinking about democracy over time and will make a serious contribution to the debate on further electoral reform in this country.”

Mr O’Leary said that the survey pinpointed gaps in voters’ knowledge of the voting process and system, which would be addressed.

Some 32 per cent of online respondents agreed that the length of the ballot paper affected how they voted, increasing to 38 per cent for those reporting a disability. Those who reported a mental or physical condition or disability were more likely (20 per cent) to have found the multiple ballot papers confusing compared with those reporting no disability (12 per cent).

Among those surveyed in Limerick who reported having difficulty understanding the ballot papers, the length (61 per cent) and number (60 per cent) of ballot papers posed the greatest challenges.

There was generally a positive attitude to politicians, according to the results. Some 60 per cent of respondents were of the view that councillors were hard-working and competent, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael supporters, in particular, strongly supporting that sentiment.

Seven-in-10 voters were of the view that the level of aggression being shown to politicians was unacceptable. Similarly, 69 per cent believed that protesting outside politicians’ homes was unacceptable. Slightly less (60 per cent) were of the view that following politicians and recording videos was unacceptable. However, more than a third of the 18-34 age group believed protesting outside a politician’s home was acceptable.

There were high levels of trust in the traditional media with 80 per cent expressing medium or high trust in newspapers, media organisations and RTÉ, with the figure falling to 50 per cent and below for social media and online messaging, with least trust being expressed for the messages of social media influencers.

Harry McGee

Harry McGee

Harry McGee is a Political Correspondent with The Irish Times