Elections are indispensable in democracies, as they hold elected officials accountable for their actions. However, the reality is that electoral mechanisms are often not effective in deterring political corruption. This study examines under what circumstances citizens continue to support corrupt politicians or parties in 106 democracies, using clarity of responsibility theory as a framework. Results show that a clear institutional structure helps citizens translate their evaluation of political corruption into their vote choice; clear institutional arrangements to voters in the context of choice refer to institutions that encourage personal votes and offer a large target.