Helping voters to make an informed choice

Abstract

To make an informed decision, voters must assess both the policy platforms and the track-record of the political parties and candidates competing for their vote. A lack of objective and accessible information makes this a hugely challenging task, and many voters resort to judging parties and candidates on more superficial grounds such as campaign slogans and posters. Research conducted by Dr. Rory Costello of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at University of Limerick has sought to understand and address these problems. Systematic evidence regarding the performance of political parties in office has been collected and used to inform public debate during elections. Innovative online tools have been developed to help voters to compare the policy platforms of parties and candidates, and these have helped thousands of Irish voters – particularly young voters - to make an informed choice in elections.