Expert Opinion Leaders' Impact on Voter Turnout: The Case of the Internet Chess Match Kasparov vs. World

Abstract

This paper investigates empirically for the first time the impact of experts' agreement on voter turnout. Data were obtained when voters, advised by four independent experts, had to decide on the next move against a chess world champion. Analyzing total voter turnout as well as individual voters' behavior in a panel data subsample, and employing OLS median and ARMAX regression techniques, we find that the degree of expert agreement matters for voter turnout. Higher voting costs are also shown to have a statistically significant negative impact on participation.