Vote buying

== Prevalence ==

=== Latin America ===
The 2010 and 2012 surveys for the Americas Barometer showed that 15% of surveyed voters in Latin America had been offered something of value in exchange for voting a particular way.<ref name="Mares">{{cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-060514-120923 |doi-access=free |title=Buying, Expropriating, and Stealing Votes |year=2016 |last1=Mares |first1=Isabela |last2=Young |first2=Lauren |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=19 |pages=267–288}}</ref>

==== Argentina ====
Vote buying and the overall practice of clientelism is widespread in Argentina. According to Simeon Nichter, one of the main perpetrators of these illegal activities were the Peronist party.<ref name="Nichter2008">{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0003055408080106 |jstor=27644495 |title=Vote Buying or Turnout Buying? Machine Politics and the Secret Ballot |journal=American Political Science Review |volume=102 |issue=1 |pages=19–31 |year=2008 |last1=Nichter |first1=Simeon |s2cid=54757367}}</ref> The relationship between voters and Peronist candidates allegedly are such that voters are offered particular goods, services, favours or monetary compensation in exchange for their political support for the party. These rewards could include a job, medicine, a roof, clothing, foods, and other goods or services. 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.<ref name="Brusco et al 2004">{{cite journal |doi=10.1353/lar.2004.0022 |title=Vote Buying in Argentina |journal=Latin American Research Review |volume=39 |issue=2 |page=66 |year=2004 |last1=Brusco |first1=Valeria |last2=Nazareno |first2=Marcelo |last3=Stokes |first3=Susan Carol |s2cid=154003297}}</ref> Since many of the communities in Argentina are ridden with poverty and are in need of these particular resources, it is these communities that have statistically shown to be in a certain demographic that were targeted for voted buying. Additionally, vote buying in this region focuses on citizens who are not strongly in favour or opposed to the political machine, and whose political loyalty does not necessarily lie with one party or another.<ref name=Stokes2005>{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0003055405051683 |title=Perverse Accountability: A Formal Model of Machine Politics with Evidence from Argentina |journal=American Political Science Review |volume=99 |issue=3 |page=315 |year=2005 |last1=Stokes |first1=Susan C |s2cid=36014179}}</ref> In this way, vote buying acts as a mechanism to sway the decisions of weakly opposed voters. In a study done by [[Susan Stokes|Susan C. Stokes]], she finds that the brokers in these communities are known to all the citizens and have access to the necessary resources from the municipality. 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. This is one main explanation for why many lower-income voters are seen voting for populist leaders, as well as authoritarian ones.<ref name=Stokes2005 /> Many citizens view these brokers as positive pillars in their lives and have the utmost respect for the help they distribute. However, others view them as hands of corruption. 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.<ref name=Stokes2005 /> Furthermore, the brokers have the additional responsibility of maintaining trusting and solid relationships with their resource suppliers. Without these strong ties, they would have no means through which to carry out vote-buying practices.<ref name="Brusco et al 2004" />

==== Mexico ====
Similarly to Argentina, it has been found that vote-buying in Mexico is most likely in rural and poor regions of the country.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s10611-010-9260-7 |title=Vote-buying crime reports in Mexico: Magnitude and correlates |journal=Crime, Law and Social Change |volume=54 |issue=5 |page=325 |year=2010 |last1=Vilalta |first1=Carlos |s2cid=154628413}}</ref> There are many instances of vote buying that have occurred in the history of Mexican elections, however, there are two main instances of fund in the literature that occurred in the last two decades. 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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Vote Buying with Illegal Resources: Manifestation of a Weak Rule of Law in Mexico|first=Gilles|last=Serra|date=10 May 2016|journal=Journal of Politics in Latin America|volume=8|issue=1|pages=129–150|doi=10.1177/1866802X1600800105|doi-access=free}}</ref> Similarly, a corruption inquiry arrested [[Andrés Granier Melo]] for embezzlement of funds in the state of [[Tabasco]] during his governorship: among other things, some of these funds were used for vote-buying (although Melo has denied all accusations).<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/942|title=Vote Buying with Illegal Resources: Manifestation of a Weak Rule of Law in Mexico|first=Gilles|last=Serra|date=10 May 2016|journal=Journal of Politics in Latin America|volume=8|issue=1|pages=129–150|doi=10.1177/1866802X1600800105|doi-access=free|access-date=22 April 2018|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417233733/https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jpla/article/view/942|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Venezuela ====
{{See also|2018 Venezuelan presidential election}}
[[File:Carnet de la Patria.png|left|thumb|[[Carnet de la Patria]], a digital ID based on China's [[Social Credit System]]. The card allows the government to monitor citizen behavior such as social media presence, political party membership, and whether or not they voted.<ref name="reuters zte">{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/venezuela-zte/ |title=How ZTE helps Venezuela create China-style social control |date=14 November 2018 |first=Angus |last=Berwick |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=3 November 2019 |archive-date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115181612/https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/venezuela-zte/ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

During the [[2018 Venezuelan presidential election]], reports of vote buying were prevalent during the presidential campaigning. Venezuelans suffering from hunger were pressured to vote for Maduro, with the government bribing potential supporters with food.<ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/world/americas/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-sanctions.html|title=As Trump Adds Sanctions on Venezuela, Its Neighbors Reject Election Result|date=21 May 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=21 May 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=22 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522115000/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/world/americas/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-sanctions.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Maduro promised rewards for citizens who scanned their ''[[Carnet de la Patria]]'' at the voting booth, which would allow the government to monitor the political party of their citizens and whether or not they had voted. These prizes were reportedly never delivered.<ref name="reuters zte" /> {{Reduced pull quote|right|Everyone who has a Carnet de la Patria has to go to vote on 20 May. ... I am thinking of giving a prize to the people of Venezuela who go out to vote that day with the Carnet de la Patria|President [[Nicolás Maduro]]|28 April 2018<ref>{{cite news|title=Súmate denunció complicidad del CNE por compra de votos para reelección de Maduro|url=https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2018/05/17/sumate-denuncio-complicidad-del-cne-por-compra-de-votos-para-reeleccion-de-maduro/|access-date=18 May 2018|work=[[La Patilla]]|date=17 May 2018|language=es-ES|archive-date=18 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518033730/https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2018/05/17/sumate-denuncio-complicidad-del-cne-por-compra-de-votos-para-reeleccion-de-maduro/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}In 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sepa qué le dejó Maduro a Delta Amacuro|url=https://www.conelmazodando.com.ve/sepa-que-le-dejo-maduro-a-delta-amacuro|access-date=12 May 2018|agency=Con el Mazo Dando|date=24 April 2018|language=es|archive-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112639/https://www.conelmazodando.com.ve/sepa-que-le-dejo-maduro-a-delta-amacuro|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Gobierno reactivó Aeropuerto Nacional de Tucupita|url=http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/regiones/gobierno-reactivo-aeropuerto-nacional-tucupita/|access-date=12 May 2018|work=El Mundo|date=25 April 2018|language=es|archive-date=27 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427151149/http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/regiones/gobierno-reactivo-aeropuerto-nacional-tucupita/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Aprobación de recursos y un breve discurso dio Maduro durante campaña en Delta Amacuro|url=http://www.contrapunto.com/noticia/aprobacion-de-recursos-y-un-breve-discurso-dio-maduro-durante-campana-en-delta-amacuro-197827/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190210151446/http://www.contrapunto.com/noticia/aprobacion-de-recursos-y-un-breve-discurso-dio-maduro-durante-campana-en-delta-amacuro-197827/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2019|access-date=12 May 2018|agency=Contrapunto|date=24 April 2018}}</ref> On 8 May Maduro again violated the electoral law during an electoral act in the [[Amazonas (Venezuelan state)|Amazonas state]] by promising to give fuel to the entity in exchange for votes.<ref name=":5">{{cite news|title=Maduro promete ser el "protector" de Amazonas y "golpear" a las mafias de la gasolina|url=http://efectococuyo.com/principales/maduro-promete-ser-el-protector-de-amazonas-y-golpear-a-las-mafias-de-la-gasolina/|date=8 May 2018|work=Efecto Cocuyo|access-date=3 November 2019|archive-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508212143/http://efectococuyo.com/principales/maduro-promete-ser-el-protector-de-amazonas-y-golpear-a-las-mafias-de-la-gasolina/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Maduro prometió casas, gasolina y trabajo para Puerto Ayacucho|url=https://elpitazo.com/guayana/maduro-prometio-casas-gasolina-trabajo-puerto-ayacucho/|access-date=12 May 2018|agency=El Pitazo|date=8 May 2018|language=es}}{{dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pdvsa activa plan especial de suministro de combustible en Amazonas|url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/economia/pdvsa-activa-plan-especial-suministro-combustible-amazonas/|access-date=12 May 2018|agency=Últimas Noticas|date=9 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512120541/http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/economia/pdvsa-activa-plan-especial-suministro-combustible-amazonas/|archive-date=12 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pdvsa reactiva suministro de gasolina tras reclamos a Maduro en Amazonas|url=http://elestimulo.com/elinteres/pdvsa-reactiva-suministro-de-gasolina-tras-reclamos-a-maduro-en-amazonas/|access-date=12 May 2018|agency=El Estímulo|date=9 May 2018|language=es|archive-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112839/http://elestimulo.com/elinteres/pdvsa-reactiva-suministro-de-gasolina-tras-reclamos-a-maduro-en-amazonas/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Africa ===
The fifth [[Afrobarometer]] survey showed that 48% of voters in 33 African countries feared violence during elections, and 16% of voters were offered money or other goods in exchange for voting a particular way in the most recent election.<ref name="Mares" />

==== Nigeria ====
On a self-reported survey that was conducted, 1 in 5 Nigerian has experienced an offer for their vote. The rewards offered by Nigerian politicians include money, commodities such as food and clothing, or a job.<ref name="Bratton2008">{{cite journal|last1=Bratton|first1=Michael|year=2008|title=Vote buying and violence in Nigerian election campaigns|journal=Electoral Studies|volume=27|issue=4|page=621|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2008.04.013}}</ref> Although the practice of vote buying is widespread, 58% of Nigerians surveyed at the time of the 2007 election viewed vote buying as immoral.<ref name=Bratton2008 /> Despite this, when asked if they thought it was wrong to accept rewards or monetary compensation for your vote, 78% said no.<ref name=Bratton2008 /> 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.<ref name=Bratton2008 />

==== Kenya ====
Since the 1990s, Kenya has had regular multiparty elections in which vote buying has played a central role. In his article, scholar Eric Kramon states that: "According to the data gathered by the Coalition for Accountable Political Finance in Kenya, cash handouts to voters represents around 40% of the average parliamentary candidates' campaign budget, making up the largest budget item."<ref name=Kramon2016>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2016.09.006 |title=Where is vote buying effective? Evidence from a list experiment in Kenya |journal=Electoral Studies |volume=44 |page=397 |year=2016 |last1=Kramon |first1=Eric |doi-access=free}}</ref> These handouts are made in various ways including stops on the campaign trail, and at-large campaign rallies.<ref>{{cite book|title=Election Shenanigans – Kenyan Hybrid Warfare |asin=B08DMZJ893}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Election Shenanigans – Kenyan Hybrid Warfare |asin=B08DGP72MH}}</ref> "In the 2002 election, 40% of surveyed adult Kenyans reported having accepted a bribe in exchange for their vote, and 22% for the 2007 elections."<ref name=Kramon2016 />

It is noted by Kramen that access to information is a huge factor in determining the success of vote buying in Kenya. If the voters have little access to political information or lack political knowledge then they are more likely to be swayed by clientelistic reasoning.<ref name=Kramon2016 /> Moreover, if the voter does have access to information about an incumbent, then the price to sway their vote is more likely to go up. Additionally, Kramon notes that citizens of Kenya tend to value candidates who provide rewards because their ability to do so points to how great their abilities will be once they are in office.<ref name=Kramon2016 />

=== Asia ===
==== Indonesia ====
In [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], vote buying is often known as ''{{ill|politik uang|id}}'' (lit. 'money politics'). According to a survey of 440 respondents by Institut Riset Indonesia in January–March 2020 in areas that will have [[2020 Indonesian local elections|local elections in 2020]], 60 percent of respondents said that they will allow their vote to be bought. Reasons for accepting vote buying include considering it as a gift that can not be rejected (35–46 percent), compensation for not working on the election day (25–30 percent), and supporting daily needs (9–16 percent).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saubani |first1=Andri |title=Potensi Maraknya Praktik Politik Uang Pilkada Kala Pandemi |url=https://republika.co.id/berita/qculq7409/potensi-maraknya-praktik-politik-uang-pilkada-kala-pandemi |access-date=November 12, 2020 |work=Republika Online |date=July 3, 2020 |language=id |archive-date=November 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116143847/https://republika.co.id/berita/qculq7409/potensi-maraknya-praktik-politik-uang-pilkada-kala-pandemi |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the common tactics of vote buying is ''{{ill|serangan fajar|id|Serangan fajar (politik)}}'' (lit. 'dawn attack'), which is giving money a day or two before the election day. The amount ranges from Rp30,000 to Rp50,000.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wasono |first1=Hari Tri |title=Saat Serangan Fajar Justru Dinanti Warga |url=https://pemilu.tempo.co/read/568918/saat-serangan-fajar-justru-dinanti-warga/full&view=ok |access-date=November 12, 2020 |work=Tempo |date=April 8, 2014 |language=id |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115180649/https://pemilu.tempo.co/read/568918/saat-serangan-fajar-justru-dinanti-warga |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marzuqi |first1=Abdillah |title=Di Balik Serangan Fajar |url=https://mediaindonesia.com/read/detail/321885-di-balik-serangan-fajar |access-date=November 12, 2020 |work=Media Indonesia |date=June 20, 2020 |language=id |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112191014/https://mediaindonesia.com/read/detail/321885-di-balik-serangan-fajar |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Philippines ====
Despite the [[Commission on Elections (Philippines)|Commission on Elections]]'s (COMELEC) tight public campaign against vote buying in the Philippines, it is rampant across the country especially near the election period. 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.<ref name="votebuying">{{cite news |title=Vote-buying mars midterm elections |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1117343/vote-buying-mars-midterm-elections |access-date=May 13, 2019 |newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513124755/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1117343/vote-buying-mars-midterm-elections |url-status=live }}</ref> 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|link=yes}} attached to it.<ref name="votebuying" /> In 2019, the authorities apprehended involved individuals.<ref name="votebuying2">{{cite news |title='Massive' vote-buying continues on Election Day |url=http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/5/13/massive-vote-buying-pnp.html |publisher=[[CNN Philippines]] |access-date=2019-05-13 |archive-date=2019-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513145632/http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/5/13/massive-vote-buying-pnp.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Vote buying still remains to be a large element of elections in the Philippines.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/philippine-election-marred-by-violence-vote-buying-monitoring-mission/ | publisher=[[The Diplomat]] | access-date = 2023-10-24 | title = Philippine Election Marred by Violence, Vote-Buying: Monitoring Mission}}</ref>