Topic
Blackballing
About: Blackballing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 34 publications have been published within this topic receiving 668 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: In this article, the same theories used to design and evaluate self-administered surveys can be used to analyze ballot features, including the content and location of ballot instructions and the layout of candidate names and office titles.
Abstract: The 2000 presidential election focused attention on the problem of unrecorded votes, in which a person casts a ballot but fails to record a valid vote for a particular contest. Although much recent research has evaluated voting technologies and their effects on unre- corded votes, there has been little research on the effects of ballot design. We argue that the same theories used to design and evaluate self-administered surveys can be used to analyze ballot features. We collect and code paper-based ballots used in the 2002 general election from 250 counties in 5 states. We code the ballots in terms of several graphic design elements, including the content and location of ballot instructions and the layout of candidate names and office titles. Our analysis suggests that several ballot features are associated with unre- corded votes (both overvotes and undervotes) in the gubernatorial con- tests. We also find that ballot design features exacerbate the racial disparity in unrecorded votes. Ballot design can be an important factor in determining whether voters are able to cast a ballot accurately, which can influence the legitimacy of elections. The 2000 presidential election and the Florida recount controversy illumi- nated the phenomenon of unrecorded votes (in which some voters come to polling places but fail to cast a valid vote for a particular contest). Roughly 2 million voters (almost 1 out of every 50 to cast a ballot) failed to cast a valid vote for president in the 2000 election (Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project 2001). The Florida imbroglio prompted a new wave of research on election administration and a flurry of election reform laws in Congress and
129 citations
TL;DR: In the Swiss open ballot PR system, voters can cast up to 34 preference votes for candidates from different parties as discussed by the authors, depending on the district magnitude, and the ballot position has a clear and robust effect on the candidates' number of preference votes.
Abstract: How much does a candidate's ballot position matter for electoral success? In the Swiss open ballot PR system, voters can cast up to 34 preference votes—depending on the district magnitude—for candidates from different parties. The ballot position has a clear and robust effect on the candidates' number of preference votes. Candidates listed first attract more preference votes from their own party voters as well as from voters from other parties. Being last on a ballot is penalised because voters strike out candidates at the bottom when giving preference votes to some candidates. The effect becomes smaller, but remains significant, once we include alphabetically ordered ballots only.
105 citations
Book•
4 Aug 2015
85 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: This paper found that a large proportion of the U.S. population has doubts about the secrecy of the ballot, and approximately 25% of all respondents and approximately half of non-White and less educated respondents do not believe their ballot choices are kept secret.
Abstract: A secret ballot is implemented to free voters to choose candidates without fear of economic or social repercussions, but the extent to which the secrecy achieves this goal depends on whether people believe their choices are kept secret, rather than whether they actually are. Findings from a nationally representative sample show that large proportions of the U.S. population have doubts about the secrecy of the ballot. Approximately 25% of all respondents and approximately half of non-White and less educated respondents do not believe their ballot choices are kept secret. Even larger proportions (almost 70%) report regularly, voluntarily sharing their vote choices with others. In sum, we find that few people view their vote choices as truly secret. We also show that beliefs about ballot secrecy help predict which candidate a citizen votes for and whether a voter turns out. Our results suggest that, despite the formal secrecy of the ballot, citizens' vote choices should be analyzed as something other than purely private acts.
80 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that the historical process of modernization caused the switch from open to secret ballot, with the underlying mechanism being the secret ballot mechanism, which is one of the cornerstones of democracy.
Abstract: The secret ballot is one of the cornerstones of democracy. We contend that the historical process of modernization caused the switch from open to secret ballot with the underlying mechanism being t...
60 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2015 | 3 |
| 2014 | 8 |
| 2013 | 2 |