Political endorsement

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A political endorsement is a public declaration of one's personal or group's support of a candidate for elected office. In a multiparty system, where one party considers that it does not have enough support to win power, just prior to the election, the official representative of that party may give an official endorsement for a party that they consider more likely to be a contender. In Australian electoral law, "electoral endorsement" is a specific term and a candidate can only be endorsed by a registered party. There are also presidential endorsements.

By journalists

According to a 2002 study, editorial endorsements of candidates by newspapers [1] led voters to evaluate endorsed candidates more favorably than candidates who fail to secure an editorial endorsement. [2] An editorial political endorsement of national political races can result in the perception of reduced journalistic objectivity, while endorsement in local political races can be seen non-partisan. [3] Reduced political accountability from journalism is a risk to democracy. [4] Scientific credibility of scientific organizations can be reduced with editorial political endorsements. [5]

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References

  1. Ansolabehere, Stephen; Lessem, Rebecca; Snyder, Jr, James M. (October 2006). "The orientation of newspaper endorsements in U.S. elections, 1940–2002". Quarterly Journal of Political Science . 1 (4). Now Publishing Inc.: 393–404. doi:10.1561/100.00000009.
  2. Kahn, Kim Fridkin; Kenney, Patrick J. (2002). "Influence Campaign Coverage and Citizens' Views of Candidates". American Political Science Review. 96 (2): 381–394. doi:10.1017/S0003055402000230. ISSN   1537-5943.
  3. Perreault, Gregory; Kananovich, Volha; Hackett, Ella (27 March 2022). "Guarding the Firewall: How Political Journalists Distance Themselves From the Editorial Endorsement Process". Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 100 (2). SAGE Publications: 354–372. doi: 10.1177/10776990221084609 . ISSN   1077-6990.
  4. Waisbord, Silvio (2001–2002). "The Challenges of Investigative Journalism". U. Miami L. Rev. 56: 377. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. Lupia, Arthur (20 March 2023). "Political endorsements can affect scientific credibility". Nature. 615 (7953). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 590–591. doi: 10.1038/d41586-023-00799-3 . ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   36941377.