Miejsce stałego zamieszkania kandydata jako determinanta decyzji wyborczych w wyborach samorządowych w Polsce

Among the many determinants of political behaviour in democratic systems, electoral decisions can be considered crucial. In line with the theory of rational choice voters cast their votes for those candidates who represent their important interests. Searching for factors determining contemporary politics is one of the basic tasks of social science researchers. The aim of this article is to determine whether a candidate’s place of permanent residence in a district plays a significant role in the political behaviour of people voting in local government elections and whether — thus — it can be included in the above set. The research hypothesis is that a candidate’s place of permanent residence matters for electoral decisions made in local government elections in Poland. The research was conducted between December 2018 and February 2019 as part of the nationwide research project “Political preferences. Attitudes — identifi-cations — behaviours”. The sample was selected in a quota and stratified manner. Indivisible strata were provinces (N = 16), while quota included elements such as gender, age and place of residence (urban/rural). The research team consisted of 16 provincial coordinators. The research, involving 968 participants, was conducted using a survey questionnaire. The results obtained confirm the great importance of the candidate’s place of residence as a determinant of electoral decisions, and also the validity of Article 10 § 1 point 3 of the Electoral Code.