The Effect of the Australian Ballot Reform on Split Ticket Voting: 1876–1908

Abstract

In the last two decades of political science, there has been considerable interest in the determinants of electoral behavior. Theories have been developed and tested on the sociological, psychological, and political antecedents of the vote. Virtually neglected in this search for determinants have been the institutional or structural properties of the electoral system itself. With a few notable exceptions, such factors as electoral qualification requirements, registration laws, and ballot and voting systems have not generated much research enthusiasm. These institutional properties, however, provide the framework within which the effects of other independent variables must be judged. This applies to all basic electoral research—whether time specific or longitudinal—but especially to the latter. Too often longitudinal research tries to trace the causes of changing voting patterns without taking into account the institutional framework. A pointed example of this is Walter Dean Burnham's recent description of this country's “changing political universe” around the turn of the century—a change which he ascribed to a breakdown in party competition and consequent voter alienation, but which undoubtedly could be partially, if not largely, explained by reference to the many institutional changes in voting rules which occurred during this period. The effects of institutional properties must be sorted out if the researcher is to establish reliable baselines against which to measure the effects of other variables.The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of one such institutional property of the electoral system—the Australian Ballot reform—on the changing split ticket voting patterns of the American electorate in the 1876–1908 time period.

Reevaluating the Vote Market Hypothesis: Effects of Australian Ballot Reform on Voter Turnout

“…Data on ballot adoption and form are from Ludington (2009Ludington ( [1911). Data on turnout are from A Statistical History of the American Electorate (Rusk 2001). Turnout is measured as the percentage of the state's voting eligible population (VEP) voting: VEP is defined as adult (more than 21 years) males, accounting for citizenship requirements and female suffrage in states where they existed.…”

“…9 Both basic ballot form and the use of a straight ticket provision (STP) would be likely to influence voter behavior. As Rusk found in his examination of the effects of ballot type on ticket splitting, "the party column format in itself was facilitative of straight ticket voting" (Rusk 1970(Rusk : 1233. However, recent research on separate straight ticket voting provisions suggests that their inclusion may actually confuse voters when used in conjunction with nonpartisan races or voter initiatives and referenda, leading to ballot runoff.…”

Careerism, Committee Assignments, and the Electoral Connection

“…Not until the adoption of the Australian ballot throughout the country in the late 1890s did many congressmen have much prospect of 'controlling' their district" (1977, 672; see also Rusk 1970).…”

Racial, Ethnic or Rational Voters? Splitting Tickets in South Africa

“…The notion that Africa is a hotbed for ethnic conflict may be commonly held among laypeople and the nonAfrican media, but many political scientists have in recent years sought to emphasize the enormous history of and potential for inter-ethnic cooperation on the continent (Fearon and Laitin, 1996). 6. Notable exceptions include studies of Australia (Rusk, 1970) and Israel (Arian and Weiss, 1969;ArieliHorowitz, 2002). 7.…”