Spatial theories of voting behavior emphasize the role of issues as determinants of vote decisions. If voters care deeply about one or a few issues, then they may use those issues to eliminate alternatives that are not minimally acceptable. Alternatively, voters may engage in a form of satisficing, whereby they focus on those parties that are acceptable on at least one issue. Each of these decision logics can be considered within a choice set logic. In this paper, I consider which of these decision logics best describes voting behavior in the most recent elections in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, 3 important multi-party systems. We also estimate a mixture model, which aims to estimate the probability that different groups of voters will use different rules. The conclusion draws out the implications for our understanding of issue voting and party competition.
