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Misleading Ballot Positions and Invalid Votes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2023

Ha Na Lee  and
B. K. Song Open the ORCID record for B. K. Song [Opens in a new window]
Ha Na Lee
Affiliation:
Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
B. K. Song*
Affiliation:
Sogang University, Seoul, Korea and University of Rochester, New York, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: bksong99@gmail.com.
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Abstract

In this paper, we study how a combination of random ballot ordering and concurrent elections can increase invalid votes in the context of South Korea. In South Korea, elections for the nonpartisan superintendent of education are held concurrently with other partisan races. Whereas the ballot order for candidates in the nonpartisan superintendent of education elections is randomized and rotated, this order for other partisan races is determined according to the number of seats each party has in the national legislature. In this study, we found that a match between candidates’ partisan preferences and their ballot positions decreases invalid votes. Our findings suggest that combining two different ballot-order schemes for concurrently held elections can confuse voters and increase invalid votes.

Keywords

invalid votesconcurrent electionsballot-order effect
Type
Research Note
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , July 2023 , pp. 347 - 355
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the East Asia Institute

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