Who Gets Selected? : A quantitative analysis exploring the effect of ideology and electoral vulnerability on the ballot placement of ethnic minority women candidates

This quantitative study aims to investigate the mechanisms for ballot placement of underrepresented groups by examining how ideology and electoral vulnerability affect the ballot placement of ethnic minority women candidates in the case of the election to the Swedish Riksdag in 2018. Four hypotheses for the relationship are set: that the Red-Greenswillputethnicminoritywomencandidates higherupontheirballots;that the Alliance will put ethnic minority women candidates higher up on their ballots; that electoral vulnerability will have a stronger effect on the Red-Greens’ ballot placement of ethnic minority women candidates; that electoral vulnerability will have the same or no effect on the Red-Greens’ and the Alliance’s ballot placement of ethnic minority women candidates. The results show a significant relationship between ideology and ballot placement of ethnic minority women candidates but no effect of electoral vulnerability. The conclusion is therefore that the Red-Greens are more likely to put ethnic minority women higher up on their ballots compared to the Alliance, and that it does not matter if a party belongs to the Red-Greens or the Alliance, because if the party is at risk of electoral defeat the effect of electoral vulnerability on the ballot placement of ethnic minority women candidates will be the same in both blocs