Mobilization and Support of Minor Parties

This paper develops models of minor-party mobilization and electoral success. Models are estimated with data from Australian Senate elections from 1922 to 1998. Existing literature and the Australian experience demonstrate that long-term minor-party activity is conditioned by election rules, economic conditions and other factors. Australian Senate elections have been conducted under a variety of election rules, and thus provide a rare opportunity for modelling the effects of variation in these forces on minor-party activity. Results demonstrate that minor parties mobilize more candidates and receive more votes when electoral rules reduce the proportion of votes necessary to win a seat. Economic decline is also found to increase the mobilization of minor-party candidates and increase voter support.