Low Education, Low Impact? The Effects of Voting Advice Applications on an Underexposed Segment of Users

Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) play a crucial role in the democratic pre-election period, positively affecting political interest, voter participation, and political knowledge. A number of studies show that they are predominantly used by people with formal higher education levels and a high level of political interest. This article takes this as a starting point to examine the mechanisms that lead individuals to feel motivated to participate in an election, feel reinforced in their voting decision, or even be converted to vote for another party through a VAA. Using data collected before the 2021 German Federal Election and drawing on path models, we find that formal education does not directly impact VAA-induced electoral mobilization or vote conversion at first glance. More specifically, we find a negative effect of average or lower formal education levels on being reinforced in an existing voting decision by the Wahl-O-Mat. However, an analysis of the mechanisms reveals that learning effects attributed to the Wahl-O-Mat usage play a key role. We observe that individuals with medium or low education gain increased awareness of party positions and differences. This, in turn, significantly raises the likelihood of being mobilised, reconsidering party choice, or reinforcing an existing decision. The findings are highly relevant for VAA research as they examine the specific preconditions and mechanisms of the effects of such a tool. For individuals with lower education levels, the learning experience through VAAs seems to be particularly crucial. For the development of VAAs, the findings show how crucial the respective learning environment is for the user experience.