Abstract
This article analyzes the role that social interactions play in shaping correct voting in order to assess the quality of democracy in Brazil. In new democracies, complex political systems—multi-party, personalistic voting, weak partisan identification, and too many candidates in the race—may undermine correct voting. The main argument is that interpersonal networks and social context function as cognitive shortcuts replacing institutional mechanisms. Interpersonal networks and social context are disaggregated into the attributes of conflict and diversity, which distinctively influence correct voting. The results confirm that a social logic of correct voting indeed exists.
social network; social context; correct voting; political behavior