What does it mean to vote based on a candidate's previous performance?

Voting based on a candidate's previous performance is best described as retrospective judgment. This concept refers to the evaluation of a candidate based on their past actions, policies, and overall performance in office. Voters assess how well the candidate has met their expectations and the needs of their constituents during their prior term, or in the case of new candidates, they might look at their past positions or roles in other capacities.

Retrospective judgment is a critical aspect of decision-making in elections because it allows voters to consider actual outcomes rather than speculative promises. For instance, if a candidate previously held office and enacted policies that positively impacted the economy or social issues, voters may choose to support them again based on that successful track record.

The other types of judgment mentioned—like informed judgment or historical judgment—focus on aspects such as the voter gathering knowledge about candidates or reviewing generational trends in political behavior, but they do not specifically encapsulate the evaluation of a candidate’s past performance. Prospective judgment, on the other hand, involves voting based on predictions or expectations about future performance rather than past actions, which is a different approach to the voting process.