Grappling with a Difficult Decision: How Voters Made Their Choices

The timing of the voting decision, the mediatised and socially oriented sources of information drawn upon during the election campaign, and the analysis of undecided voters (i.e. late deciders and last-minute voters) are the main topics covered by this chapter. This sheds light on how the relationship between society and politics, voters and political parties, has been changing over time. The sociodemographic profiles of voters are considered alongside their political orientations and a number of indicators of their political cultural traits. This information makes it possible to outline a model of the timing of the voting choice. The analysis of voters’ behaviour within a hybrid media system offers some clues as to how voters decide. The chapter focusses on the interplay between the legacy media, the Internet and social media, instant messaging platforms and face-to-face interaction where political discussion takes place. This specific type of pre-electoral behaviour provides empirical evidence making it possible to understand better how the interplay affects the timing of the voting decision.