Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
It has been argued that closeness counts not only with respect to the overall decision of a (general) election but also with respect to the outcome in subelectorates. This proposition is tested using data both from the last German Bundestagswahl as well as the U.K. general election in 1987. The authors find that (expected) closeness counts for turnout on the level of the individual electoral district but not on any level below, e.g., on the level of precincts. Therefore, closeness seems to count only if it is relevant for electoral victories or defeats. Copyright 1992 by Kluwer Academic Publishers