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Communication Research
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Fanning the Flames of a Partisan Divide

Debate Viewing, Vote Choice, and Perceptions of Vote Count Accuracy

R. Lance Holbert

The Ohio State University

Heather L. LaMarre

The Ohio State University

Kristen D. Landreville

The Ohio State University

Elections should serve to reaffirm a citizenry's belief in the legitimacy of its political processes and outcomes. This study focuses on perceptions of vote count accuracy as a criterion variable. An argument is offered that voters' personal perceptions of postelection vote count accuracy are predicted by vote choice, with those citizens who did not vote for the winning candidate having to deal with the cognitive dissonance created by the election outcome. The model offered in this work focuses on an interaction between partisan strength and debate viewing as predictor of vote choice. In addition, an indirect effect of partisanship on vote choice through debate viewing is explored. Debate viewing is shown to promote partisan voting, and vote choice serves as a strong predictor of perceptions of vote count accuracy. A subset of the 2004 National Annenberg general election panel data (N = 5,660) was used for this secondary analysis.

Key Words: U.S. presidential elections • cognitive dissonance • debate viewing • partisanship • vote accuracy

This version was published on April 1, 2009

Communication Research, Vol. 36, No. 2, 155-177 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0093650208330248
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