Getting things straight: The effects of ballot design and electoral structure on voter participation

Bonneau, Chris W.; Loepp, Eric

doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2013.10.008

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…When voters are confused or fatigued they tend to skip parts of the ballot and not cast a vote, an act called ballot roll‐off. Roll‐off increases when the ballot is long, complex, or confusing (Bonneau and Loepp ; Bullock and Dunn ; Walker )—characteristics that can certainly be ascribed to RCV elections…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ranked Choice Voting and Attitudes toward Democracy in the United States: Results from a Survey Experiment

Nielson

2017

Politics & Policy

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Ranked choice voting (RCV) is a voting system used commonly around the world, but only rarely in the United States. I present here a study that investigates how American voters act in an RCV election. Using a survey experiment design, I compare the election outcome and the behaviors and attitudes of voters in a plurality election to an RCV election. I find evidence suggesting RCV may not significantly change election outcomes and have no positive impact on voters confidence in elections and the democratic process. Study participants who voted in the RCV treatment were not any more likely to prefer RCV elections to plurality or majoritarian elections, and, overall, most voters do not prefer to vote in RCV elections and do not think that they result in fair election outcomes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ranked Choice Voting and Attitudes toward Democracy in the United States: Results from a Survey Experiment

Nielson

2017

Politics & Policy

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“…Finally, our paper is also related to the literature on the effects of ballot features on elections. Previous studies have shown that ballot design can lead to voter confusion and misunderstanding (Frisina et al, 2008;Herrnson et al, 2012;Kimball & Kropf, 2008;Neely & Cook, 2008;Song, 2019;Wand et al, 2001), affect voter turnout (Augenblick & Nicholson, 2015;Bonneau & Loepp, 2014) and split-ticket voting (Calvo et al, 2009), and increase the number of invalid votes (Kimball & Kropf, 2005). We contribute to this literature by showing that ballot design can affect not only voter behavior but also the electoral strategies of political machines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Media, Secret Ballot and Democratization in the US

2020

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The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Latin American and the Caribbean Economic Association. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but LACEA takes no institutional policy positions.LACEA working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.

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“…For example, Reynolds and Steenberg (2006) show that the use of colors, pictures and symbols might affect the use of the ballot. Bonneau and Loepp (2014) present evidence that the use of party logos increases voting for "down ballot" races, as there are more cues voters can rely on. Another example can be found in Matson and Fine (2006), who found that the positioning of candidates and offices within the same ballot can affect participation in those races.…”

Section: Explaining Invalid Votesmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…While the comparative study of electoral systems mostly focuses on basic differences in vote allocation methods, each system also provides a wide array of ballot variations. Ballot designs have an impact on the information burden and general complexity faced by citizens (Bonneau andLoepp 2014, Katz et al 2010). Yet, outside of the United States, very little scholarly attention has been paid to the vast differences possible in the designs of ballots that affect the complexity of indicating voter intent, even within the same electoral system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ballot design and invalid votes: Evidence from Colombia

2017

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We examine the tendency for complex ballot tasks to undermine the ability of votes to cast valid ballots. Specifically, we investigate whether ballot design is responsible for the high rate of spoiled ballots in Colombia in 2007. We address this question first by looking at data from a study observing the use of alternate ballot designs in a controlled environment, varying the information voters have when attempting to cast the ballot. We then examine the observed pattern of spoiled ballots in Colombia before and after the implementation of the ballot redesign tested in an experiment conducted in Bogotá. Our results show that there is an independent effect of the ballot design on the amount of spoiled ballots and that this effect correlates with certain selfreported socio-demographic characteristics such as education. We also demonstrate that by improving the usability of the ballot the number of spoiled ballots drops significantly and the effect of socio-demographic variables become less important in explaining the presence of spoiled ballots. Also, aggregate results of the 2011 local elections at the municipal elections show a significant drop in spoiled ballots.

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Getting things straight: The effects of ballot design and electoral structure on voter participation

Cited by 20 publications

References 48 publications

Ranked Choice Voting and Attitudes toward Democracy in the United States: Results from a Survey Experiment

Ranked Choice Voting and Attitudes toward Democracy in the United States: Results from a Survey Experiment

Media, Secret Ballot and Democratization in the US

Ballot design and invalid votes: Evidence from Colombia

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