The dynamics of tactical voting: What explains repeated tactical voting behavior?

I study strategic voting from a dynamic perspective. Using data from the British Election Study Internet Panel, I first show that tactical voters have a strong tendency to repeat their strategic behavior in subsequent elections, provided they have an incentive to do so. Moreover, using a regression discontinuity design, I show that this persistency cannot be simply explained by persistent incentives over time, suggesting that the act of casting a tactical vote itself increases the chances of doing so again in the future. Finally, I explore a variety of mechanisms to explain this persistency, finding no evidence of increased learning about electoral environments nor of a trial-and-error logic driven by outcomes. Instead, I find that some of the persistency in tactical voting can be partly explained by attitudinal and procedural changes leading to increased self-perceived political efficacy, higher political attention, and increased advice-seeking behavior.