Elite cues and electoral systems: the impact of political elites on voter attitudes towards ranked choice voting

In the last decade, voters in several US states and local municipalities have faced ballot initiatives on adopting some form of ranked choice voting (RCV) in their elections. The results of such proposals, however, have been mixed and unpredictable. What then explains the variation in American voter support for RCV? While existing research suggests several demographic factors may drive voter support, we theorize that an under-explored explanation for variation in voter support is the policy positions of political elites. In this project, we expand on previous theories regarding the impact of elite cues and affective partisanship. Using a survey experiment with a representative sample of Americans, we find that partisan attitudes towards RCV are impacted by exposure to statements about RCV made by a respondent's own political party. In contrast, we do not find that attitudes towards RCV are shaped by the position of a respondent's out-party. We also find that attitudes are not significantly influenced by specific party elites like Donald Trump, but that they are by a fictional non-partisan information source. Our findings speak to the relevance of political elites and affective partisanship in shaping voter attitudes towards electoral reforms.