Definition of Passive Electioneering

What does the term "passive electioneering" mean? What is meant by the term "passive electioneering"?

Passive electioneering refers to the practice of wearing campaign clothes, buttons, etc to a polling place on election day.

The purpose of "passive electioneering"? To subtly (or not so subtly) influence people as they are just about to vote.

For instance, many people tend to "go with the herd" and perform actions that are in line with what the majority of people are doing - this is just human nature. With "passive electioneering", an undecided voter may see the campaign logos of a certain party or candidate on the shirts and badges of other people at a polling station and subsequently decide to vote for that party. While they were never consciously admit to being influenced in this way, subconsciously many people will be influenced by others.

A number of states and countries have rules that prohibit (or restrict) passive electioneering in order to maintain a neutral environment (or the closest thing to it). This can range from banning campaign logos inside of polling places to requiring that poll boxes and other such things are painted a certain color.

--

Davemanuel.com Articles That Mention Passive Electioneering :

None