# NPR: Why the first name on the ballot often wins **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 9, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265 "2016-08-09T17:52:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/21 "2016-08-10T15:05:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > there are good reasons why every group supports a particular party. Although the reasons aren’t good enough to endorse balkanization. Take the party affiliations off the ballot and thought becomes a requirement. It doesn’t “endorse balkanization”, it endorses not making voting needlessly difficult. Party affiliation is actual useful information to voters. No reason to remove useful information when it can be represented by a single letter. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/22 "2016-08-10T15:08:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Voters should be required to know who is who before voting. Party affiliation encourages ignorant voting. Why? Voting a straight Republican ticket or a straight Democratic ticket is a valid preference. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/23 "2016-08-10T15:46:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …We live in a country today where which party gets elected in 2060… Any predictions for the election that year? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/24 "2016-08-10T16:01:11Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Any predictions for the election that year? Aidan Clinton-Mezvinsky for President! ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/25 "2016-08-10T16:08:53Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > there are good reasons why every group supports a particular party. Although the reasons aren’t good enough to endorse balkanization. Take the party affiliations off the ballot and thought becomes a requirement. I admit that sometimes when voting for local offices I go into the voting booth without a clear idea of who to vote for. My strategy at times has been: 1. If the ballot tells me who the incumbent is, I ask myself whether I am pleased with how that governmental entity has served my interests over the past couple of years. If I’m not pleased, I vote against the incumbent. 2. If the incumbent isn’t listed, but party affiliation is, I frequently vote for the Democratic candidate. I live in Dupage county, where Republicans hold the vast majority of local offices. It’s the same strategy as #1 above. 3. If neither is listed, then I vote based on the name of the candidate. I’ll vote for a woman over a man, for instance. And living in the Chicago area, I figure the Irish have held more offices than they should, so I typically won’t vote for anyone named, for instance, Shanahan. I will vote for someone with an obvious Hispanic, Indian, or Middle Eastern name. I feel I’m just cancelling out the vote of someone who would vote against that candidate because of their name. So, really, does the lack of party affiliation really cause more thought? ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/26 "2016-08-10T16:15:35Z")
In 1994 Minnesota had a “Sharon Anderson” as candidate for Attorney General. She was a perennial name in elections, often roundly defeated. In the Republican primary race she beat the party-endorsed candidate, in spite of the fact that she wasn’t an attorney. (She lost to “Skip” Humphrey in the general election.) Why did she get so many votes? One theory was that since no one really knew who the candidates were in this primary race, people voted for the name they know, and Anderson is a very common name in Minnesota, plus there was a different Sharon Anderson who was a local talk show host. This [link](http://www.bk4sos.org/stupid.php) from 2006 discusses this, and I like this quote: > [@](#): > > What possessed those primary voters to select Sharon Anderson? > > We hear from a young age how important it is to vote. Voting is your civic duty. It’s your responsibility as a citizen. It’s your right, don’t neglect it. And yet very little is said about voting responsibly. The little sticker you wear says “I Voted,” not “I Voted Carefully.” > > When you think about it, it’s hard to deny: it’s worse to vote irresponsibly than to not vote at all. There is no excuse for voting for a candidate just because she is a woman–or because you like her last name–or because her name is listed first–or just for the sake of voting. > > Even though I try to pay attention, I have to admit: I have gone into the booth and become totally befuddled by the race for Soil and Water Supervisors. I wasn’t prepared. I failed to learn about the candidates. It was too late to check these people out. I hate not to vote. What if I find out later that one of the candidates was accused of theft or some such thing? I’m there to vote! It’s now or never! Aaahhh! > > What to do: Admit you’re not prepared. Don’t vote on a race where you didn’t do your homework. And promise not to let it happen again. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/27 "2016-08-10T17:21:26Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Voters should be required to know who is who before voting. Party affiliation encourages ignorant voting. Exactly. Party branding matters more than positions or policy. Voting shouldn’t be equivalent to choosing a soft drink. > [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > But in Parliamentary Democracies you vote for the party. The party candidate is way less relevant. Thankfully the US has not adopted the inferior parliamentary system. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Not everyone has the time or inclination to memorize a bunch of names. Party affiliation really is important information for many voters. > > Restricting voting to only those people with lots of time and resources to study up is just another class-based restriction – wealthy and comfortable people tend to have more access to information and more time to learn it. People without such time and resources should have just as much right to vote as those with. So, it’s an unfair and immoral expectation to desire those who choose the ruling class to know whom they are choosing? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/28 "2016-08-10T17:36:41Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > So, it’s an unfair and immoral expectation to desire those who choose the ruling class to know whom they are choosing? You’re acting as though party affiliation is completely non-predictive of what a candidate will do if elected. It isn’t. It’s a valid heuristic for picking a candidate who broadly supports the things you do. Elections like this one — where a major party has nominated a candidate so far beyond the pale that many in that party are actively repudiating him — are obviously extremely rare, and who at this stage is going to blindly vote for Trump simply because he’s a Republican, without knowing everything he’s said and done up to election day? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/29 "2016-08-10T18:19:31Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > who at this stage is going to blindly vote for Trump simply because he’s a Republican, without knowing everything he’s said and done up to election day? A shockingly large and dismaying number, unfortunately. I agree with **Adaher** about one primary thing- they really need to cut down on all the rinky-dink local offices on the ballot, or put them in their own separate election at some other time. It’s always dismaying to me to get past the Federal and state sections, and get to the part where I’m choosing between 4 candidates for the office of “Hide and Fur Commissioner” of the county, and I’ve never heard of any of the 4, despite reading up on the election beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/30 "2016-08-10T19:45:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > So, it’s an unfair and immoral expectation to desire those who choose the ruling class to know whom they are choosing? Desire and expect all you want – just don’t go making it harder for voters, IMO. Getting rid of party affiliation makes it harder for voters. “Wait, there’s a John Smith for District 2 and for County board?! Which one is the Smith I read about? I know he’s a Republican, but it doesn’t say on the ballot!” ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/31 "2016-08-10T20:45:21Z")
Take it a step further, and get rid of all political parties altogether! That way, voters will have research every single candidate, because everyone will be (I)! ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/32 "2016-08-10T21:32:10Z")
A lot of these problems are good reasons to favor a mail-in ballot. Here in WA, we’ve done away with polling booths altogether. My wife I pull out our computers, the county’s mailers and then research each person and issue together as we vote. We generally spend two or three hours and sometimes decide we’ll do more research on particular issues. It’s a much more pleasant and thoughtful experience than when I used voting booths in CA. That said, some positions just don’t need to be elected. Like local water commissioner. Six candidates finding ways to say “Good water! Low price!” Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/33 "2016-08-10T21:54:29Z")
My strategy is to not vote for an office that I do not know about, or for candidates I do not know about. I disagree that the smaller offices should not appear on the ballot. Just because I don’t know doesn’t mean that others don’t know. However, I do and will continue to personally counsel other that, “Just because it’s on the ballot doesn’t mean you are required to make a choice!” I’ve known a few people running for smaller local offices and they worked tirelessly to get in front of voters, it is not their fault that so few voters are engaged at that level. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/34 "2016-08-10T22:01:15Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Desire and expect all you want – just don’t go making it harder for voters, IMO. Getting rid of party affiliation makes it harder for voters. > > “Wait, there’s a John Smith for District 2 and for County board?! Which one is the Smith I read about? I know he’s a Republican, but it doesn’t say on the ballot!” I suppose I have higher expectations for those who wish to participate in self governance. It’s bad enough most would have a hard time calculating compound interest. Expecting voters to know who they vote for shouldn’t be perceived as madness. I’ll admit to being a hypocrite on this subject though. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/35 "2016-08-10T22:06:39Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I suppose I have higher expectations for those who wish to participate in self governance. It’s bad enough most would have a hard time calculating compound interest. Expecting voters to know who they vote for shouldn’t be perceived as madness. I’ll admit to being a hypocrite on this subject though. I hope that everyone knows lots about the candidates too, but I think it’s wrong to make it harder for them to vote. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/36 "2016-08-10T23:10:34Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > But in Parliamentary Democracies you vote for the party. The party candidate is way less relevant. Absolutely no you don’t. As to why you choose to vote for a candidate may be based 100% on party affiliation. Which is an equally valid approach to what we see in the US. > [@octopus](#): > > Thankfully the US has not adopted the inferior parliamentary system. #1 the premise is wrong and #2 based on 150+ years experience the American republic model is a podium finish for being the US’s most dangerous export. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/37 "2016-08-11T18:58:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And this is why we should not make voting by all, regardless of how engaged they are with the process, a virtue. > > If people don’t know what’s going on, they should be encouraged to NOT vote. Voting isn’t just a right it’s a civic duty. Not learning about who is running for various offices is akin to sleeping while on jury duty. One problem with this is, efforts to discourage voting never seem to target different demographic groups equally. (In at least some cases, deliberately so.) Also, who gets to decide how informed is informed enough? I’d say it’s better to encourage everyone to vote, while _also_ encouraging everyone to become more informed and engaged in the process. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/38 "2016-08-11T19:37:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And this is why we should not make voting by all, regardless of how engaged they are with the process, a virtue. > > If people don’t know what’s going on, they should be encouraged to NOT vote. Voting isn’t just a right it’s a civic duty. Not learning about who is running for various offices is akin to sleeping while on jury duty. There are a lot of people that do know what going and don’t want to vote ! I heard about 20% of voters don’t want to vote at one point, not sure what that number is now. So how do you get these people to vote? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/39 "2016-08-11T19:37:54Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The study dealt specifically with “lower-profile choices … think school board seats, judges, agriculture commissioners.” In some of the states, voters are faced with a bewildering number of choices to make. > > I, for one, find the _large quantity_ of elective positions _contrary to representative democracy_. Most voters are faced with six or more general legislative positions they must vote for — can’t these legislators pick the agricultural commissioners? How lengthy are the ballots in other democracies? I’m in Canada. Federal, provincial and municipal elections are never held on the same day. There are separate elections for each, and each has its own ballot. Short answer: we vote for one Member of Parliament; one Member of the Provincial Legislative Assembly; one mayoral candidate; one city councillor in our ward; and up to six school board members, since the school boards don’t use wards. For federal and provincial elections, we vote for one and only one candidate for the riding we live in. Right now, we’re in a period where we have five parties in Parliament, but one of those only runs candidates in Quebec. So at the federal election last fall, there were four candidates on the ballot who represented parties with at least one MP in Parliament. There were also a couple of other minor party candidates, I think, so about six on the ballot. I think that’s about average in my experience. Similar at the provincial level. The ballot I got had two candidates from parties who had elected members, one from a party that used to be powerful but has fallen on hard times, and a couple of minor party/independents. Municipal elections we vote for mayor and councillors. Since mayor is a city-wide position, there’s usually two or three realistic candidates and then about half a dozen minor/independents. The city I live in uses the Ward system, with single-member wards. Usually not more than 6 candidates on that ballot We also vote for school boards, either Public or Catholic Separate. They don’t use ward systems, so they have the longest ballot, to elect a board of about six or so. That ballot could have 20 to 30 names on it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265/40 "2016-08-11T19:38:45Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > …#1 the premise is wrong and #2 based on 150+ years experience the American republic model is a podium finish for being the US’s most dangerous export. Have you not even _heard_ of Kanye? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-why-the-first-name-on-the-ballot-often-wins/762265.md?page=3)