Block vote, open-list proportional representation, and women’s electoral outcomes. Evidence from a quasi-experiment in Polish local elections

Abstract

Although pioneering research suggested that proportional elections are better for women’s outcomes than plurality rules, research scholarship is accumulating growing evidence that this relationship depends on specific rules. We look at the impact of electoral rules on female participation in local legislative bodies using quasi-experimental variation in electoral systems in Poland. Below an exogenous population threshold, a mix of first-past-the-post and block vote was applied. Above the threshold, the system was open-list proportional representation. We find little difference between plurality and proportional elections on average. Furthermore, we find that voters chose women less often than men from the same ticket, even under block vote, i.e., when they could have supported all candidates from a chosen party, and even after controlling for the candidates’ incumbency status, position on the ticket, and age. Our results point to the limited and heterogeneous effects of electoral systems.