{"title":"Free votes and the analysis of recorded votes: evidence from Germany (1949–2021)","authors":"Tamaki Ohmura, David M. Willumsen","doi":"10.1080/01402382.2022.2114651","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The literature on legislative voting either explicitly excludes free votes from its analysis, does not distinguish them from other recorded votes, or analyses only topic-specific subsets of them. This research note shows all three approaches to be problematic, and argues for a reconsideration of how free votes are approached in the literature. Drawing on a dataset covering all recorded votes in the German Bundestag (1949–2021), and analysing the topics, initiators and voting behaviour on all free votes held, it is shown that free votes are frequent, address a broad range of issues, and display substantial variation in legislative behaviour. Most importantly, there is a strong indication that free votes are held on topics on which parties refrain from taking a position. The findings have substantial implications for the study of parliamentary floor voting.","PeriodicalId":48213,"journal":{"name":"West European Politics","volume":"46 1","pages":"1205 - 1221"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"West European Politics","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2114651","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"POLITICAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Abstract The literature on legislative voting either explicitly excludes free votes from its analysis, does not distinguish them from other recorded votes, or analyses only topic-specific subsets of them. This research note shows all three approaches to be problematic, and argues for a reconsideration of how free votes are approached in the literature. Drawing on a dataset covering all recorded votes in the German Bundestag (1949–2021), and analysing the topics, initiators and voting behaviour on all free votes held, it is shown that free votes are frequent, address a broad range of issues, and display substantial variation in legislative behaviour. Most importantly, there is a strong indication that free votes are held on topics on which parties refrain from taking a position. The findings have substantial implications for the study of parliamentary floor voting.
期刊介绍：
West European Politics (WEP)has established itself as one of the most authoritative journals covering political and social issues in Western Europe. It has a substantial reviews section and coverage of all national elections in Western Europe. Its comprehensive scope, embracing all the major political and social developments in all West European countries, including the European Union, makes it essential reading for both political practitioners and academics.
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