Spatial voting

In <a href="/facts/Political_science/Gqy5EoRX">political science</a> and <a href="/facts/Social_choice_theory/ztMqy1bM">social choice theory</a>, the spatial (sometimes ideological or ideal-point) model of voting, also known as the Hotelling–Downs model, is a <a href="/facts/Mathematical_model/CGhyuxgz">mathematical model</a> of voting behavior. It describes voters and candidates as varying along one or more <a href="/facts/Dimension/0ktmUyac">axes</a> (or <a href="/facts/Dimension/0ktmUyac">dimensions</a>), where each axis represents an attribute of the candidate that voters care about.: 14  Voters are modeled as having an <a href="/facts/Bliss_point_(economics)/IvBkdxbQ">ideal point</a> in this space and preferring candidates closer to this point over those who are further away; these kinds of preferences are called <a href="/facts/Single-peaked_preferences/scNs2lz1">single-peaked</a>. 
The most common example of a spatial model is a <a href="/facts/Political_spectrum/8JazHDe0">political spectrum or compass</a>, such as the traditional left-right axis, but issue spaces can be more complex. For example, a study of German voters found at least four dimensions were required to adequately represent all political parties.
Besides ideology, a dimension can represent any attribute of the candidates, such as their views on <a href="/facts/Single-issue_politics/09TF4aKL">one particular issue</a>. It can also represent non-ideological properties of the candidates, such as their age, experience, or health.

Spatial voting open-in-new

Spatial voting