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INTRODUCTION
The prevalence of vote buying--where candidates and intermediaries distribute commodities or money to citizens in exchange for their votes--has been known to Indonesian scholars for decades. While long viewed as a corrosive and corrupting influence on Indonesian politics, more recent scholarship has begun to focus on the nuances and complexities of vote buying. For example, Fionna (2014) found that intermediaries or "brokers" who distribute money on behalf of candidates often target the most persuadable voters and those who could be persuaded to vote in an upcoming election.1Other research has examined the "demand" side of vote buying to determine which voters are most likely to prefer receiving payments from candidates as opposed to broad-based public policies (Shin 2015). Underlying much of this research is a presumption that the practice of vote buying undermines government effectiveness (Hicken and Simmons 2008) and is normatively antithetical to classic conceptions of democracy. Government agencies such as the Komisi Pemilihan Umum (or KPU) and the Kesatuan Bangsadan Politik (or Kesbangpol) spend considerable time and energy attempting to reduce the practice by distributing pamphlets to citizens and holding public events discouraging citizens from voting for candidates who offer gifts in exchange for their votes.
Less studied, however, are the attitudes regarding vote buying, and the sources of those attitudes, among the mass public in Indonesia (see Shin 2015). Research has shown that income and education are related to normative attitudes about vote buying (Halim 2013) and also acceptance of money from candidates and campaigns (Shin 2015). However, there are two distinct attitudinal dimensions to the practice of vote buying. The first is the normative dimension: whether or not the practice of candidates offering money is acceptable or justified in a democratic society. Many elites and scholars presume vote buying to be corrupt and normatively bad for democracy. This includes government officials at the KPU and Kesbangpol as well as media outlets who endeavor to shape this norm through reminders to citizens following candidate debates and other broadcasts related to Indonesian elections. The second dimension, however, involves a practical or pragmatic attitude about vote buying: regardless of their normative views, will citizens accept money from candidates if offered? It seems likely that many citizens will have consistent views across...
