VAAs have become an integrated part of the process where voters choose between parties and candidates. Voters fill in an online questionnaire marking their positions on a range of policy statements; the VAA compares the answers with those of each party or candidate, and displays the proximity between the user and the parties or the candidates. In Finland, which is a candidate centered open list system, the design of the VAAs is open and they are first accessed by the candidates themselves. Proximity calculations between users and candidates are based on the candidates’ own answers.
So far, most of our knowledge of the importance of VAAs has been limited to survey data gathered among voters. In systems where candidates respond to the questions, political scientists have been able to map ideological differences between candidates both within and between parties. Our paper uses unique material, since we have access to a large dataset from a nationwide VAA. Our data cover answers from practically all candidates in the Finnish parliamentary election of 2011. Moreover, we have access to the responses by 320 000 users of the same device.
The analysis is threefold. First, we analyze attitudinal differences between voters and candidates. How well is the median voter represented by the candidates? Second, we concentrate on differences between candidates. Our assumption is that candidates respond coherently to issues which represent the ideological core of their party, whereas a wider dispersion can be observed regarding other political questions. Moreover, we hypothesize that the elected MP’s are more moderate than non-elected candidates, which follows the reasoning in May’s law of curvilinear disparity. Third, we are interested in examining how coherent the party profiles based on aggregated candidate responses at the VAA are with other sources, such as expert surveys and content analysis of party manifestos.
