Vote buying

Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor handing out monetary rewards.

Although this practice is illegal in many countries such as the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Kenya, Brazil and Nigeria, its prevalence remains worldwide.

in the mid- and late 19th century, members of competing parties would vie, sometimes openly and other times with much greater secrecy, to buy and sell votes.

To keep the practice of vote buying secret, parties would open fully staffed vote-buying shops.

The most famous episodes of vote buying came in 18th century England when two or more rich aristocrats spent whatever money it took to win.

Other scholars argue that it is people of lower income status who are the best group to target, as they are the most likely to be receptive to monetary or other forms of compensation.

The wealthy, who have sufficient means to address significant problems in their lives, would be less willing to sell a vote unless a higher price was offered for it.

Another strategy has been to invoke personalized social norms to make voters honor their contracts at the voting booth.

[7] This is extremely problematic because if it is the most corrupt politicians who are engaging in vote buying, then it is their interests that remain the ones that dictate how the country is going to be run.

The case of Argentina in particular in that it relies heavily on face-to-face and day-to-day interactions between "brokers" who act as middlemen and voters.

They maintain relationships with the voters and grant them rewards and favours continuously in order to keep the party they work for in the office.

Stokes further explains that the capacity of these brokers is constrained due to the fact that they can only maintain this type of transactional relationship with a limited number of voters.

The first was the 2006 Mexican election, where it was found that 8.8% of the population that was not a beneficiary of a specific social program was offered compensation for their vote.

Venezuelans suffering from hunger were pressured to vote for Maduro, with the government bribing potential supporters with food.

I am thinking of giving a prize to the people of Venezuela who go out to vote that day with the Carnet de la PatriaIn a visit to Delta Amacuro, president and reelection candidate Nicolás Maduro gave away eight motor boats, nine ambulances, and reopened the "Antonio Díaz" Tucupita Airport, among other announcements, violating Article 223 of the Organic Law of Electoral Processes which forbids the use of state resources during election campaigns, as well as one of the prerogatives in the Agreement of Electoral Guarantees signed by the presidential candidates to the CNE.

[30] One factor that needs to be iterated when it comes to studies that are based on surveys is that since vote buying is illegal in most countries, a researcher's ability to collect accurate data is hindered.

This is because many citizens may not feel comfortable revealing their experience or involvement with corrupt activities, or fear that they will suffer repercussions from their governments for coming forward with such information.

"[31] It is noted by Kramen that access to information is a huge factor in determining the success of vote buying in Kenya.

[35] According to Burhanuddin Muhtadi in his book Kuasa Uang; Politik Uang dalam Pemilu Pasca-Orde Baru, vote buying in Indonesia is done by individual candidates instead of political parties because of intense intraparty competition, forcing candidates to rely on their own networks instead of relying on the party machine.

It is not clear yet whether any incumbent or running politicians have ever been convicted and subsequently disqualified, since cases usually get dismissed due to lack of evidence.

[37] According to the Philippine National Police, vote buying commenced in the dark, where people gathered to receive a sample ballot with the money, usually at least ₱500 attached to it.