Ballot paper cues and the vote in australia and Britain: Alphabetic voting, sex, and title

When a voter comes to cast a ballot, some information about the candidates is evident on the ballot paper itself. Using multiple regression techniques, this study provides quantitative estimates of the impact of such information in recent British and Australian elections. The results suggest that whether the candidate's name comes first, middle, or last on the ballot paper has no effect on the vote in Britain. But it does matter in Australia, partly because voters are more likely to choose candidates whose names come first, but mostly because the major parties believe voters will do so and select candidates accordingly. In addition, women candidates are at an electoral disadvantage in Britain and at an even greater disadvantage in Australia. Most, but not all, of this disadvantage comes about because major parties are reluctant to nominate women candidates. Finally, in Britain candidates with an honorary title garner an appreciable deferential vote although candidates with an academic title do not. These effects range in size from a modest 2.5 percent of the vote to a substantial 12.5 percent.