Split Ticket Voting

SPLIT TICKET VOTING is the decision by a voter to choose candidates from two or more parties on the same ballot. Split ticket voting contrasts with straight ticket voting, when a voter chooses candidates from the same party. Prior to the 1880s, in the United States, ballots were printed and distributed by parties. While voters could choose to literally rip their ballots and cast votes for candidates from different parties, this practice was discouraged and, consequently, limited in use. By 1892, however, all states adopted provisions for election by a secret ballot, also called the Australian ballot, which lists all the candidates for office, regardless of party. As a result, voters could choose any candidates they liked, regardless of party affiliation. The institution of secret voting provided voters with the opportunity to cast split tickets for multiple parties' candidates.

A voter may decide to split his or her ticket for any number of reasons. One commonly held view is that voters choose presidents to represent their national interests, while they choose House representatives to represent their local interests. This view posits that the Republican Party coordinates national policies, while the Democratic Party coordinates local issues. These divergent emphases allow voters to choose two different parties to represent their interests, resulting in split ticket voting.

Another theory is that voters choose to split their tickets strategically between the two major parties to create moderate policies. This perspective holds that voters wish to divide the government between the two parties to diffuse power, rather than to concentrate power in one party. The consequence of split ticket voting, then, is divided government. Divided government results in each party controlling one branch of the federal government. The Democratic and Republican parties must compromise in order to coordinate policy action between the different branches of the government. As a result, it may be argued that voters directly influence the laws that govern them by splitting their votes.