Parties and Party System Compared: Findings from the VoteSwiper in the 2024 European Elections

The VoteSwiper (in Germany WahlSwiper) is a VAA that has already been used in 24 elections in Germany. The VoteSwiper is a cross-platform and multilingual Voting Advice Application for smartphones, tablets and web applications for browsers that offers a decision-making aid for elections. It was used by over 1.2 million users during the 2021 Bundestag elections and was offered in six languages (German, English, Turkish, Russian, Arabic and Persian). The app uses swipe technology to swipe left or right depending on preference. The decision aid was also launched in four countries for the first time for the 2019 European elections. Special features are the explanatory texts and videos, which are intended to provide users with neutral background knowledge on the individual topics. As a rule, between 33 and 38 questions are created for each election, filtered out of approximately 150. For selected elections, users are also asked about their results, attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics. The intended contribution for the ECPR General Conference is based on the VoteSwiper for the 2024 European elections, which will take place from 6 to 9 June 2024. The VoteSwiper will again be available in various countries. The following research questions are at the core of the paper: 1. How strong are the differences between individual parties or party families in terms of content positioning for the 2024 European elections? 2. How strong are the similarities and differences in the individual party systems? 3. How strong is the congruence between voters and party positions? 4. What substantive trends can be identified in the party systems, based on the VAA, between the 2019 and 2024 European elections? 5. What are the most salient questions/topics in each country?