Do perceptions of political party corruption play a significant role in vote choice? More specifically, is intention to vote for a specific party influenced by perceptions of corruption of that party, as well as by perceptions of the degree of corruption of competing parties? To determine whether perceptions of political party corruption matter at all for voters' preferences, we propose a party choice model in which we estimate the influence of perceptions of corruption of each party, net of other variables, on vote intention. We focus on Poland, and use data from the Polish Panel survey, POLPAN, 1988–2008. Our analyses indicate that perceptions of political party corruption have an effect on the decision to participate in elections, on intention to vote for a particular party and on vote choice regardless of which party is chosen. Assessments of party malfeasance matter even when other determinants of the vote are considered.
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