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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:

  • The frequency is set per legislature (e.g. every 12 game months, every 48 game months)
  • The next election date is displayed on the country dashboard
  • All parties participate automatically
  • Can be triggered early via Early Election Calls

Game Time

Remember: 1 real-world hour = 1 game day. So a legislature with elections every 12 game months (~365 game days) would hold elections roughly every 15 real-world days.

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 Profiles

Each elector has a detailed profile you can view, including:

  • Job type and employment sector — what they do for a living
  • Income and education level — their socioeconomic background
  • Housing status — homeowner, renter, etc.
  • Religious status — their religious background
  • Political worldview — an AI-generated description of their political beliefs and priorities
  • Life goals — personal aspirations that influence which policies matter most to them

Study the Electorate

Visit individual elector profiles to understand what drives their votes. If many electors have life goals related to housing affordability, proposals on housing policy will resonate strongly.

Demographics and Issue Analysis

Each country now has two related views:

  • Demographics - Composition of the electorate through histograms and visualisations (age distribution, income levels, employment sectors, and more).
  • Issue Analysis - How elector issue views relate to demographic characteristics.

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

National Moods

Beyond individual elector preferences, each country can experience national moods — shifts in the political climate that temporarily influence how voters view certain issues.

What Are National Moods?

A national mood is an active political or cultural trend that shapes public opinion across a country. When a mood is active:

  • Issue positions shift - All voters are pushed slightly in one direction on certain issues
  • Issue importance changes - Some topics become more or less salient to voters
  • It affects your strategy - You need to account for these shifts when proposing laws or building voter appeal

Mood Effects in Action

Imagine a country experiencing a "Traditional Culture" mood. In this climate: - Voters become slightly more conservative on issues like gender roles and religious influence - Issues related to cultural values become more important to them - A proposal on marriage equality might perform worse than usual - Your party's policy positions are evaluated through this cultural lens

Viewing National Moods

You can see active moods on the country dashboard:

  1. Mood badges - Click on any mood to see:
  2. Name and description
  3. Which issues are affected (and which direction)
  4. Duration remaining (for temporary moods)

  5. Visual emoji icon for quick recognition

  6. Mood impact - Understanding what moods mean for your strategy:

  7. Study which issues are affected
  8. Consider how your party positions align
  9. Time sensitive proposals carefully

Types of Moods

Moods can be:

  • Permanent - Reflect the country's established character (e.g., "Strong Military Culture")
  • Temporary - Emerge from events and fade over time (e.g., "Economic Prosperity" lasting 1 year)

Available National Moods

The following permanent moods are available when proposing new countries:

Faith, family, and the way things have always been done.

Voters skew socially conservative on identity and family issues, more sympathetic to religious influence in public life.

  • Moves voters toward: traditional gender roles, religious governance
  • Moves voters away from: multiculturalism, immigration

Don't tread on me. Build it yourself.

Voters lean libertarian: they like personal freedom and dislike state intervention in the economy.

  • Moves voters toward: individual liberty, free markets
  • Moves voters away from: welfare state, worker rights

We look after each other here.

Voters expect the state to provide a baseline for everyone and view inequality with suspicion.

  • Moves voters toward: welfare state, worker rights, education
  • Moves voters away from: free markets

What we leave behind matters more than what we take.

Voters prioritise long-term ecological sustainability and peaceful resolution over military action.

  • Moves voters toward: environmental protection
  • Moves voters away from: military strength

Every issue is the issue. Every fight is the fight.

Voters care intensely about their positions. Salience is doubled across the board, making elections turn on conviction rather than nuance.

  • Effect: All issues become more salient to all voters (no position shift)

Borders matter. Strength is respected. The nation comes first.

Voters prize military capability and sovereign control above internationalism.

  • Moves voters toward: military strength, law and order
  • Moves voters away from: immigration, multiculturalism

Everyone is welcome. Every identity is valid.

Voters are comfortable with diversity, supportive of gender equality, and welcoming to newcomers.

  • Moves voters toward: multiculturalism, gender equality, immigration
  • Moves voters away from: religious governance in public life

What's the point? Nobody's listening anyway.

Voters haven't shifted their views, but they've stopped caring as much. Salience is halved across the board, making elections noisier and less driven by conviction.

  • Effect: All issues become less salient (no position shift)

Men lead. That's just how it's always been done.

Male authority is deeply embedded in social, legal, and cultural norms. Gender issues carry extra weight in voter decision-making.

  • Moves voters toward: traditional gender roles, religious governance
  • Moves voters away from: gender equality
  • Gender roles become more important to voters

Event-Triggered Moods

Some moods are not selectable when proposing a country — they attach automatically when specific in-game events happen.

The monarch has refused royal assent on a bill the legislature wanted to pass.

Triggered automatically when a reigning monarch vetoes a bill that had cleared the legislatures. Lasts 90 days; another such veto in that window resets the clock.

  • No effect on voter positions or salience
  • Halves the approval threshold on pure abolish-the-monarchy constitutional change packages
  • Bypasses the constitutional change cooldown for pure abolish-the-monarchy packages
  • Mixed packages (abolition + anything else) get neither benefit

See Hereditary Monarchy → Constitutional Crisis for full mechanics.

Boom times — the economy is firing on all cylinders.

Triggered by rare alignments of favourable conditions (productivity surges, investment booms, resource windfalls, or confident markets). Lasts 2 years by default.

  • No effect on voter positions or salience
  • Effect on economy: Baseline GDP per capita grows at double the country's normal annual growth rate
  • Example: A country normally growing at 2%/year would grow at ~4% while the mood is active

These mood events are external to player action and appear as shifts in the nation's economy.

The bottom has fallen out — the economy is contracting.

Triggered by severe downturns (financial crises, burst bubbles, trade shocks, or collapse in confidence). Lasts 2 years by default.

  • No effect on voter positions or salience
  • Effect on economy: Baseline GDP per capita shrinks at around -3.5%/year regardless of the country's normal trend
  • Example: A country normally growing at 5%/year would instead shrink at -3.5% while the mood is active

These mood events are external to player action and appear as shifts in the nation's economy.

Strategic Considerations

When planning your proposals and voting strategy:

  • Commission polls before major votes to see how moods affect voter sentiment
  • Time controversial proposals - Avoid pushing against strong moods right before elections
  • Adapt your messaging - Explain how your positions serve voters under the current mood
  • Build coalitions with parties whose positions align with active moods
  • Plan long-term - Temporary moods pass, but current sentiment matters for immediate elections

Use Moods to Your Advantage

If a mood aligns with your party's values, it's a tailwind for your growth. If it opposes you, focus on other issues and wait for the mood to pass.

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)
  • Party branding - parties with a custom SVG logo get a +5% turnout boost from their supporters; parties without a logo face a -5% penalty

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