Second Thoughts on Second Order Elections: On the Particularities of Local Elections

What is “local” about local elections and how do they differ from elections at the state or federal level? One of the theoretical concepts quite often applied to local elections is Reif & Schmitt’s concepts of “second-order elections”. But is local elections really “second-order” elections? We suggest not to categorize local elections as such but instead as lower-level elections with particular features: 1) more units within the same country and therefore variation in party systems, turnout etc. exist, 2) the local units are somewhat subordinate to the national political level and therefore the elections are somewhat influenced by national politics, and 3) local politics have some special features (because of 1 and 2), such as: Low information elections, reduced number of policy areas, lower entry barriers for parties and candidates, etc.