An Electoral Connection in E uropean Parliament Voting

Concerns about endogeneity often complicate attempts to estimate a causal link between public opinion and the voting records of Members of the E uropean Parliament ( MEP s). In this article, I overcome this problem by exploiting a rare natural experiment—the surprising and exogenous revelation of I rish public opinion that resulted from I reland's ratification of the N ice treaty. I find that the I rish electorate's rejection of N ice caused I reland's E uropean Parliament delegation to vote in a more conservative manner, while its subsequent ratification caused a partial reversal of this shift. My finding of an electoral connection on the N ice treaty casts doubt on the claim that MEP s are largely unconstrained by voter preferences on E uropean issues, despite claims of a democratic deficit in E uropean institutions.