Forces In Motion...(Election Question)

[Actinguy]

Hey guys! I've been playing off and on for a few years now, and have noticed something that bothers me.

Playing as 1836 America in the basic game, the Democrats will consistently win EVERY election, at least until about 1880 (which is the furthest I've ever played).

Playing as 1836 America in VIP, the Whigs will consistently win every election, until the event pops up that disolves the Whigs, at which point Republicans will win every election until 1880 (furtherst I've ever played).

Am I doing something wrong? I know this isn't working as designed of course...especially because I've seen in other AARs that players have had "real" elections.

So...how do I make the elections sway from party to party?

 

[unmerged(20628)]

First of all, if you have voting rights set to "wealth" then elections tend to be much more predictable: if you have a lot of clerks, they will vote liberal, and until then the conservative aristocrats have a majority.

Secondly, you can influence the election result using the campaign events, by promoting your favourite party´s agenda. It is therefore worthwhile to remeber your preferred party´s politcal agenda, and promote them everytime possible.

Lastly, your electorate´s income plays an important role: the poorer they are (=the higher the taxes), the more likely they are to vote against the conervatives. In the beginning of the game the poor prefer liberals, later when socialist parties pop up they prefer socialists. Setting the taxes to 90 % for the last few days before the election guarantees a landslide victory. A bit gamey though

On a final note, pops with low consciousness have a tendency to be mindless zombies and love the current leadership, despite their personal political preferences.