[DECODED] Diving into the minds of Filipino voters in 2025 polls

‘We needed to grasp the why behind the numbers to assist us reply…what sort of legislators they assume may help construct a greater Philippines’

The 2025 midterm elections mark the fifth election I’ll be protecting as a journalist. My first was the 2013 elections, which coincidentally was the primary time that I used to be eligible to vote. As an intern for Rappler then, one in every of my key duties was to trace survey outcomes about senatorial candidates. It was my early publicity to the intersection of information and democracy. 

As we speak, nearly 12 years later and as lead editorial researcher, I discover myself as soon as once more analyzing voter sentiments and election traits, however now with a deeper understanding of how these numbers form narratives and affect nationwide selections.

We flip to surveys to get a way of the place the general public stands. For elections, these numbers give us an concept of how totally different candidates are faring within the race. However as essential as these rankings are, they don’t inform the total story. Behind each response is a voter with private experiences, priorities, and issues — every formed by their setting, beliefs, and on a regular basis struggles. 

This was the concept that fueled information forensics agency Nerve and Rappler in monitoring voter preferences for the 2025 senatorial elections. We needed to grasp the why behind the numbers to assist us reply the next questions: What influences an individual’s selection of candidates? What nationwide points weigh most closely on voters’ minds? And in the end, what sort of legislators do they assume may help construct a greater Philippines? 

To get to the guts of those questions, we designed a survey that went past simply asking who folks plan to vote for and as a substitute requested what issues to them. This allowed us to take a more in-depth take a look at the traits, values, and sentiments that form voter conduct, which gave us a extra nuanced view of how the respondents assume.

The survey was carried out on the Rappler web site from September 19 to 30, 2024 — earlier than the submitting of certificates of candidacy in October. The two,700 respondents are Rappler readers who’re eligible voters for the 2025 elections. 

The outcomes confirmed that Rappler readers view corruption, inflation, and schooling as “most essential issues for the Philippines.” The easiest way for the Senate to deal with the difficulty of corruption, they mentioned, was to make sure transparency in authorities transactions, in addition to consider simpler legal guidelines and penalties. 

We additionally discovered that they consider honesty and integrity are extra essential qualities for a Filipino senator to own over their respective celebration affiliation and even charisma. Somebody who desires to get a Senate seat must also have a strong observe report, a set of accomplishments, and good advocacy. 

One characteristic that units the Nerve survey other than different polls is its distinctive strategy to grouping respondents. As an alternative of relying solely on conventional demographics, Nerve clustered members based mostly on two key elements: the similarity of their responses inside a gaggle and the distinction between teams. This technique allowed the staff to establish distinct voter segments — psychographic cohorts — who share intently aligned beliefs and political beliefs.

Over the previous few months, my fellow researcher James Patrick Cruz additionally monitored social media traits and analyzed discussions about senatorial candidates throughout social media platforms and on-line information.

He tried to make sense of the political panorama and present occasions, inspecting how they form the web narratives surrounding the candidates. For instance, in his story protecting on-line discussions from October 1 to November 30, 2024, he discovered that senators Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go are haunted by the ghosts of Rodrigo Duterte’s violent battle on medicine.

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These insights helped us not simply observe an election, but additionally discover the larger forces that drive voter conduct and the issues that form a citizen’s politics. Should you’re to know extra about our work, you’ll be able to attain out to whats up@thenerve.co. Elections, in spite of everything, aren’t nearly politicians but additionally about folks. – Rappler.com

The Nerve is an information forensics firm that allows changemakers to navigate real-world traits and points via narrative and community investigations. Taking the very best of human and machine, we allow companions to unlock highly effective insights that form knowledgeable selections. Composed of a staff of information scientists, strategists, award-winning storytellers, and designers, the corporate is on a mission to ship information with real-world impression.