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Beyond the Butterfly: The Complexity of U.S. Ballots

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2003

Richard G. Niemi  and
Paul S. Herrnson
Richard G. Niemi
Affiliation:
Don Alonzo Watson Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester (niemi@rochester.edu). He is co-author or co-editor of a number of books, including Comparing Democracies 2, Term Limits in the State Legislatures, and Civic Education. He has written numerous articles on political socialization, voting, and legislative districting. His current research interests are civic education, term limits, and voting technologies
Paul S. Herrnson
Affiliation:
Director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship and a professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland (pherrnson@capc.umd.edu). He is author of Congressional Elections; co-author of The Financiers of Congressional Elections; and author, editor, or co-editor of other books. He has written numerous articles on political parties and campaigns and elections. His current research interests are congressional elections, money and politics, and voting technologies.
The authors thank Matthew Stiffler for his assistance in collecting and checking ballots.
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Abstract

Curiosities and inconsistencies in the format of U.S. election ballots go far beyond the infamous “butterfly” ballot. Ballot instructions, candidate and party listings, party symbols, and, in general, variations that result from a complex and highly decentralized election system provide ample opportunity for all but the most sophisticated voters to misunderstand, mismark, or spoil their ballots and for all voters to feel confused and frustrated. We call attention to the enormous disparity in ballot designs across the states and to individual state designs that are inconsistent and needlessly complex. We recommend changes that would promote clarity and uniformity and yet allow room for state variations in the most politically potent aspects of ballot design. We also suggest steps by which reforms might be accomplished.

Type
Articles
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 2003 , pp. 317 - 326
Copyright
© 2003 by the American Political Science Association

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