Traditionally, two questions on voter behavior have received a lot of attention. The first considers the turnout decision of voters and tries to identify the determinants of the vote decision. The second addresses what happens after a voter has decided to cast a ballot and is concerned with explaining her party choice. Surprisingly up to now the interaction between the two decisions has largely been ignored. In this paper we will explore this interaction effect using a model with five voters, three parties and a system of proportional representation employing both theoretical and experimental methods. Based on the theoretical predictions we will vary whether turnout is endogenous and how extreme the left-wing party is to test the main predictions of the theoretical model. These are that endogenous turnout leads the voters to behave more extreme and more sincere in their party choice, that the effect of polarization on strategic voting depends on the voting rule and that turnout is higher when the parties are more polarized.
(joint with Arthur Schram)