2024 Taiwan Election: Moral Reasoning & Independent Voter Preferences

• In Event: Party Loyalty across Contexts and Commitment Levels

Abstract

The role of moral reasoning in shaping voting behavior is an important, yet understudied area in political science. While partisan-motivated reasoning is well-documented, we know little about how moral stances impact electoral choices and how they interact with partisanship. In this single-author paper, I seek to address this gap in the literature by exploring how independent voters form their voting preferences and the relationship between moral stances and partisanship in shaping these choices. Taiwan's 2024 presidential election serves as an ideal case study for examining these questions. The rise of the third political force within Taiwan's two-major-party system, with the 4-year-old Taiwan People's Party (TPP) accounting for 26% of the popular vote, provides a unique opportunity to study the role of non-partisan factors in shaping electoral behavior. To conduct this exploratory study, I collected four-wave panel data via a web platform from October 2023 to January 2024. I will use multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to analyze the data and identify patterns in the moral reasoning of partisan and non-partisan voters. Specifically, I will examine how independent voters form their choices by employing or rejecting partisan cues and how much they base their choices on moral stances. The findings of this study will enrich our understanding of the limits of partisanship and the role of non-partisan factors during national elections. By examining the complex relationships between moral reasoning and partisanship, this study contributes significantly to the literature on public opinion formation, political psychology, and the factors that shape electoral behavior.

Author

• Frank C. S. Liu, National Sun Yat-Sen University