Costly Voting Models

Abstract

We review different game-theoretical models of elections where voters incur voting costs. In those models, we focus on the equilibrium equations and see how these change with different assumptions on the fundamentals of the model. We provide additional proofs and further detail some existing ones as well as analyze some interesting concepts such as self-defeating polls, handicaps and false-consensus. All of the models focus on the concept of pivotal voter. By looking into these models, we aim to deepen understanding of voting dynamics and their implications.