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Elections & Voters

Elections are how your party gains seats and political power. Understanding how voters think and how elections work is crucial for success in Lawmaker.

How Elections Work

Election Schedule

Elections happen on a regular schedule:

  • Typically every 4 game years (~96 game days = ~4 real days)
  • Schedule is fixed and announced in advance
  • All parties participate automatically
  • Can be triggered early via Early Election Calls

Election Process

graph TD
    A[Election Day Arrives] --> B[Electors Vote]
    B --> C[Votes Counted]
    C --> D[Proportional Seat Allocation]
    D --> E[New Legislature Formed]
    E --> F[Government Formation Begins]
  1. Election occurs on the scheduled date
  2. Electors cast votes based on their preferences
  3. Votes are counted and percentages calculated
  4. Seats are allocated proportionally to vote share
  5. New legislature is formed
  6. Cabinet formation process begins

Results

After an election, you'll see:

  • Vote totals for each party
  • Vote percentages (share of electorate)
  • Seats allocated to each party
  • Turnout rate (percentage of electors who voted)
  • Comparison to previous election (gains/losses)

Understanding Voters

The Elector System

Lawmaker simulates individual voters (called "electors"):

  • Each country has ~60 electors
  • Each elector represents a portion of the population
  • Electors are AI-driven with unique preferences
  • They make decisions based on their values and your record

Why Individual Voters?

Unlike games with random or formula-based elections, Lawmaker's electors actually analyze your voting record and make informed decisions. This creates realistic, consequential elections.

Elector Preferences

Each elector has positions on the 8+ political issues:

Elector Profile Political Preferences
Young Progressive High equality, environmental protection, personal liberty, open immigration
Social Conservative Traditional values, religious influence, law & order, national identity
Economic Liberal Free market, low taxes, business-friendly, limited regulation
Democratic Socialist Wealth redistribution, worker rights, universal services, equality

How Electors Decide

Electors vote for parties by:

  1. Reviewing voting records - How did each party vote on proposals?
  2. Comparing to preferences - Which party's votes align with their values?
  3. Weighting recent votes - Recent votes matter more than old votes
  4. Forming opinions - Build a positive or negative view of each party
  5. Casting their vote - Support the party that best matches their preferences

Elector Decision-Making

Elector Profile: Strong environmentalist

Party Voting Records: - Green Alliance: Voted FOR renewable energy, AGAINST coal subsidies - Business First Party: Voted AGAINST renewable energy, FOR coal subsidies - Centrist Party: Abstained on both

Result: Elector votes for Green Alliance (clear match with their values)

Time-Weighted Voting

Recent votes matter more:

  • Very recent votes (last 30 days) - High impact
  • Recent votes (30-90 days) - Moderate impact
  • Older votes (90+ days) - Lower impact
  • Ancient votes (>1 year) - Minimal impact

This simulates voter memory - people remember what you did lately more than what you did years ago.

Turnout

Not all electors vote in every election:

  • High turnout (>70%) - Engaged electorate, competitive race
  • Medium turnout (50-70%) - Normal participation
  • Low turnout (<50%) - Apathetic voters, low engagement

Factors affecting turnout:

  • Controversial recent proposals (increases turnout)
  • Long periods without activity (decreases turnout)
  • Close competition between parties (increases turnout)

Electoral System

Proportional Representation

Lawmaker uses proportional representation:

  • Vote percentage ≈ Seat percentage
  • 10% of votes → ~10% of seats
  • 50% of votes → ~50% of seats

This means:

✓ Small parties can win seats ✓ No party usually has a majority ✓ Coalition building is essential ✗ Hard to win outright control

Seat Allocation Formula

Seats are allocated using a proportional system:

Party Seats = (Party Votes / Total Votes) × Total Seats

Seat Allocation

Legislature size: 650 seats

Election results: - Party A: 35% of votes → ~228 seats - Party B: 30% of votes → ~195 seats - Party C: 20% of votes → ~130 seats - Party D: 15% of votes → ~97 seats

No party has a majority (326 seats needed). Coalition required!

Minimum Threshold

Some legislatures may have a minimum threshold:

  • Typically 5% of votes
  • Parties below threshold win no seats
  • Prevents legislature fragmentation
  • Check your country's rules

Electoral Strategy

Building Voter Appeal

To win elections, you need to:

  1. Vote consistently - Build clear party identity
  2. Align with voter values - Support popular positions
  3. Time controversial votes - Schedule unpopular votes early in cycle
  4. Show leadership - Take stands on important issues
  5. Build coalitions - Form alliances for post-election government

Ideological Positioning

Where should your party position itself?

Progressive/Socialist positioning

Appeals to electors who want: - Economic equality - Strong worker protections - Environmental action - Social progressivism

Strategy: Vote consistently for leftist policies

Conservative/Libertarian positioning

Appeals to electors who want: - Free market economics - Traditional values - Strong defense - Individual liberty

Strategy: Vote consistently for rightist policies

Moderate positioning

Appeals to electors who want: - Balanced approach - Pragmatic solutions - Compromise positions

Strategy: Mix of left and right votes, or frequent abstentions

⚠️ Warning: Centrist positioning can be seen as wishy-washy!

The Consistency Advantage

Voters reward consistency:

  • Clear ideological profile
  • Predictable voting behavior
  • No flip-flopping
  • Strong party identity

Build a Brand

The most successful parties have a clear identity. "We always support environmental protection" is stronger than "We vote differently each time depending on circumstances."

Analyzing Your Electoral Position

Check if you're likely to gain or lose seats:

  1. Commission polls to see current standings
  2. Review recent votes - Did you take popular positions?
  3. Check competitors - Are rivals stealing your voters?
  4. Assess timing - Recent controversial votes?

Polling

Commissioning Polls

You can pay to see electoral forecasts:

  • Cost: 10 Political Power
  • Shows: Projected vote share for all parties
  • Includes: Turnout estimates, seat projections
  • Snapshot: Based on current voter opinions

To commission a poll:

  1. Ensure you have 10 PP
  2. Go to polling section
  3. Choose public or private poll
  4. Review results

Poll Types

Only you can see results

✓ Keep strategic information secret ✓ No rivals can see your standing ✗ Can't share with coalition partners ✗ Other parties may distrust you

All parties can see results

✓ Transparency builds trust ✓ Share with coalition partners ✓ Set public expectations ✗ Rivals see your position ✗ Bad results are visible

Interpreting Polls

Polls show:

  • Current vote share for each party
  • Projected seats in next election
  • Turnout forecast
  • Margin of error

Polls Are Snapshots

Polls show current opinions, not future results. Voters can change their minds based on new votes and proposals before election day!

Using Polls Strategically

  • Before proposing laws - Will this help or hurt electorally?
  • Coalition negotiations - Show your strength to allies
  • Timing proposals - Confirm you can recover from unpopular votes
  • Candidate recruitment - Invest when you're rising

Early Elections

Calling Early Elections

Parties can trigger early elections before the scheduled date:

  • Cost: 30 PP (normal) or 10 PP (if no parties have seats)
  • Process: Create early election proposal
  • Voting period: 60 game days
  • Threshold: Requires <50% opposition

Early Election Strategy

When to call early elections:

✓ Your party is surging in polls - Lock in gains ✓ Rivals are weak - Catch them unprepared ✓ Major event happened - Capitalize on momentum ✓ Coalition collapsed - Need new mandate ✗ You're behind - Waste of PP ✗ No clear advantage - Unnecessary risk

Early Election Voting

All parties vote on whether to hold early elections:

  • Yes - Support early election
  • No - Oppose early election
  • Abstain - No position

If opposition is <50%, early election is called.

Early Election Tactics

  • Leading parties often call early elections to cement dominance
  • Opposition parties vote No to deny them advantage
  • Small parties might vote Yes if they're growing

Post-Election

Forming Government

After elections, parties attempt to form governments:

  • Largest party often leads formation
  • Coalition negotiations begin
  • Cabinet positions distributed
  • Government stability depends on coalition cohesion

Electoral Mandates

Election winners can claim mandate to implement their platform:

  • "Voters supported our proposals"
  • Justification for pushing controversial laws
  • Political capital to negotiate with others
  • Strengthened legitimacy

Learning from Results

After each election:

  1. Review what worked - Which votes helped you?
  2. Analyze losses - Why did voters turn away?
  3. Study winners - What are successful parties doing?
  4. Adjust strategy - Modify positions for next cycle

Electoral History

Tracking Performance

Monitor your party's electoral history:

  • Vote share over time
  • Seat count trends
  • Gains and losses each election
  • Long-term growth or decline

Legislative Legacy

Your voting record builds a legislative legacy:

  • Every vote contributes to your electoral profile
  • Voters judge you by cumulative record
  • Can't erase past votes
  • Long-term consistency wins

Tips for Electoral Success

Winning Strategies

  1. Vote consistently with a clear ideology
  2. Study the electors - Understand what they want
  3. Time controversial votes - Early in cycle, not before elections
  4. Commission polls regularly - Know where you stand
  5. Build coalitions - Partner with ideologically similar parties
  6. Show leadership - Take clear stands on important issues
  7. Learn from losses - Adjust strategy based on results
  8. Think long-term - One bad election isn't the end

Electoral Mistakes to Avoid

  • Flip-flopping - Inconsistent voting confuses voters
  • Excessive abstentions - Looks weak and indecisive
  • Ignoring voter preferences - Pure ideology without electoral strategy
  • Poor timing - Controversial votes right before elections
  • Lack of identity - Trying to please everyone pleases no one

Next Steps