How the Party Can Win in Personal Vote Systems: The “Selectoral Connection” and Legislative Voting in L ithuania

Electoral rules can motivate politicians to cultivate a “personal vote” through their legislative voting records. However, I argue that candidate‐selection procedures have the ability to overpower these electoral incentives. This study—the first systematic study of how candidate selection and electoral rules interact—takes advantage of L ithuania's unique mixed electoral rules and fortuitous candidate‐selection procedures. Regardless of electoral rules , MP s whose future careers depend on getting renominated by central party leaders vote against the party less than those whose careers do not. This evidence of a “selectoral connection” suggests candidate‐selection procedures must be studied much more seriously.