"Politicians, and people, can compensate for other types of weaknesses, but they cannot do so for morality. Even if they do overlook moral weaknesses, voters feel torn about their choice and are dissatisfied. In the recent New York city mayoral elections, when voters picked Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani, they traded off morality for experience, or any number of other traits they believed Cuomo had and Mamdani lacked. Yet, they felt dissatisfied with their choice."
"We asked them how satisfied they were with their choice on a scale of 1 - 7. Mamdani voters reported high satisfaction, averaging about 6 out of 7, while Cuomo voters were less satisfied, averaging about 4.5. We also asked how hard it was to make their decision on the same scale. Both groups found it fairly easy, but Cuomo voters reported slightly more difficulty (around 3) compared with Mamdani voters (about 2.4)."
"We find this same pattern over and over again in studies we have been conducting over the past year. In our experiments, we asked people to choose between two fictional candidates who were equally strong overall. The only difference between the two candidates is that one candidate is low on morality and high on another trait such as economic competence, and another candidate is high on morality and low on the other trait. Thus, participants are forced to"
A survey of 368 voters leaving Manhattan polling sites recorded candidate choices and decision experiences. Among respondents, 237 voted for Mamdani, 124 for Cuomo, and seven for Sliwa. Mamdani voters averaged about 6 out of 7 on satisfaction with their choice, while Cuomo voters averaged about 4.5. Both groups reported relatively low difficulty deciding, with Mamdani voters around 2.4 and Cuomo voters around 3. Integrity and morality emerged as decisive attributes: voters who prioritized perceived integrity reported higher satisfaction, whereas voters who traded morality for experience reported more dissatisfaction. Experimental work replicates this pattern with fictional candidate choices.
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