The theory of straight ticket voting

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of the straight-ticket voting option (STVO) on the positions of politicians. STVO, present in some US states, allows voters to select one party for all partisan elections listed on the ballot, as opposed to filling out each office individually. We analyse the effects of STVO on policy-making by building a model of pre-election competition. STVO results in greater party loyalty of candidates, while increasing the weight of non-partisan voters’ positions in candidate selection. This induces an asymmetric effect on vote shares and implemented policies in the two-party system.