Choosing a candidate based on past performance or track record exemplifies which voting model?

Choosing a candidate based on past performance or track record exemplifies which voting model?

• A. Rational Choice Voting
• B. Prospective Voting
• C. Retrospective Voting
• D. Issue Voting

Answer: (C)

Choosing a candidate based on past performance or track record is about judging how a leader has actually governed. This approach, known as retrospective voting, treats the vote as a check on what has been done in office. Voters look at outcomes and policies from the incumbent’s time in power—things like economic results, public services, or crime—and decide whether to reward or punish the record with their ballot. It’s different from prospective voting, which is about what a candidate promises to do in the future; and from issue voting, which centers on alignment with positions on specific issues regardless of past results. Rational choice voting is a broader idea about weighing costs and benefits to maximize personal interest, which can include past performance but isn’t defined by it.

Choosing a candidate based on past performance or track record is about judging how a leader has actually governed. This approach, known as retrospective voting, treats the vote as a check on what has been done in office. Voters look at outcomes and policies from the incumbent’s time in power—things like economic results, public services, or crime—and decide whether to reward or punish the record with their ballot. It’s different from prospective voting, which is about what a candidate promises to do in the future; and from issue voting, which centers on alignment with positions on specific issues regardless of past results. Rational choice voting is a broader idea about weighing costs and benefits to maximize personal interest, which can include past performance but isn’t defined by it.