Impact of contextual settings on VAA use

The impact of political and institutional contexts on the use and the effects of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) remains as one of the most prominent white spots within VAA related research. In this paper we will address this research gap based on survey data collected before and after the recent elections in Switzerland (October 2023; N=3,941) and investigate how the use of VAAs by voters is influenced by different contextual settings. The national elections in Switzerland provide an excellent opportunity for such a study. On the one hand VAAs are widely used, and on the other hand these elections on national level show a number of contextual settings. First, for each of the two parliamentarian chambers a different electoral system is being applied: Proportional representation for the elections to the National Council and a majoritarian system for the Council of States. In addition to that we can analyze the impact of different cultural settings by comparing the German speaking region with the French speaking region. And finally, the elections take place in 26 electoral districts (cantons), which differ in many aspects: rural vs. urban districts, the districts seize range from 1 to 35 seats and also the level of competitivity (expressed as a ratio of the number of lists/candidates per seat) differs largely. Before the background of this setting, we expect that our paper can contribute to a better understanding how different contextual settings impact the use of VAAs.