Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2-2004

Journal / Book Title

The Journal of Politics

Abstract

This article presents evidence of name-order effects in balloting from a study of the 1998 Democratic primary in New York City, in which the order of candidates' names was rotated by precinct. In 71 of 79 individual nominating contests, candidates received a greater proportion of the vote when listed first than when listed in any other position. In seven of those 71 contests, the advantage to first position exceeded the winner's margin of victory, suggesting that ballot position would have determined the election outcomes if one candidate had held the top spot in all precincts.

DOI

10.1046/j.1468-2508.2004.00151.x

Journal ISSN / Book ISBN

0022-3816

Published Citation

Koppell, Jonathan GS, and Jennifer A. Steen. "The effects of ballot position on election outcomes." The Journal of Politics 66, no. 1 (2004): 267-281. Harvard

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