This paper tracks the existence in Colombia of what is widely known as “whipped vote” (voto amarrado). From the perspective of electoral analysis, whipped vote represents the base power of the so-called electoral bosses. The paper selects a group of Senate candidates according to their longevity and analyzes their votes over a relatively long period of time to assess the stability of the vote, its territorial concentration and its autonomy from party organizations. Empirical evidence shows that while there are senators with a relatively stable, concentrated, and party-independent vote, such cases are not so frequent. In addition the paper challenges conventional academic wisdom about “whipped vote”, even for the most striking cases, evidencing cycles of stability and concentration, which appear to be linked to party membership.
