Election campaign and media exposure: explaining objective vs subjective political knowledge among first-time voters

Gherghina, S. and Marian, C. (2024) Election campaign and media exposure: explaining objective vs subjective political knowledge among first-time voters. Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, (doi: 10.1080/25739638.2024.2319400) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

Existing research reveals the existence of objective (factual) and subjective (perceived) political knowledge among voters. However, we know little about their determinants, especially among people who have not voted before. This article aims to explain the factors influencing the objective and subjective political knowledge of first-time voters. Our analysis uses individual level data from an original survey conducted in the aftermath of the 2019 presidential elections in Romania on 664 first-time voters. The study distinguishes between three components of knowledge – motivation, ability and opportunity – and argues that they may have divergent effects. The empirical evidence based on ordinal logistic regression only partially supports these theoretical expectations, but it does reveal a rich picture.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gherghina, Dr Sergiu
• Authors: Gherghina, S., and Marian, C.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 2573-9638
• ISSN (Online): 2573-9646
• Published Online: 21 February 2024
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2024 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe 2024
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence