Spatial voting theory assumes electorates base candidate choices on well-structured policy preferences. Behavioral research contends these preferences are often unstructured and inconsistent.

➡️ The Core Question: How does inconsistency in voter beliefs affect spatial voting models?

The authors develop a model expecting that voters with less consistent policy views assign less importance to policy distance when evaluating candidates who align with their positions.

➡️ Testing the Model: Using 2008 US presidential election data, they analyze how preference consistency influences voting decisions.

• Voters' self-assessed belief consistency varies along the liberal–conservative spectrum.

• Less consistent voters show reduced responsiveness to policy distance differences between candidates.

➡️ Key Findings:

The results demonstrate that inconsistent beliefs weaken the effect of spatial alignment on voting behavior.

Policy distance matters more for electorates with structured preferences.

These findings challenge core assumptions about political representation. They suggest electoral systems may not fully capture citizen policy views if some voters struggle to articulate or maintain consistent political stances.