Voter Competence with Cumulative Voting

Objective. This article evaluates the voting experience in the first election using cumulative voting for the Board of Trustees in Port Chester, New York. A growing number of local jurisdictions in the United States are using cumulative voting for multimember elections. While the Port Chester electi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial science quarterly Vol. 97; no. 3; pp. 619 - 635
Main Authors Kimball, David C., Kropf, Martha
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2016
Wiley (Variant)
Subjects
Ballots
Candidates
Educational programs
Election results
Elections
Electoral reform
Hispanic Americans
Local elections
Politics & Campaigns
Residents
Voter behavior
Voters
Voting
New York
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Objective. This article evaluates the voting experience in the first election using cumulative voting for the Board of Trustees in Port Chester, New York. A growing number of local jurisdictions in the United States are using cumulative voting for multimember elections. While the Port Chester election included some other new features in addition to cumulative voting, the village implemented an extensive voter education program to prepare voters and candidates for the election. Methods. We conducted an exit poll of 1,946 Port Chester voters in June 2010, more than half of the voters in the local election. We used a variety of survey questions to measure voting experience and voting behavior. We also examined election returns for Port Chester, including the 2010 and 2013 elections using cumulative voting. Results. We find that the voter education program helped inform residents about casting a ballot with cumulative voting. Port Chester voters, and Hispanic voters in particular, reported a positive experience in the 2010 election. A large majority of voters also indicated that they understood cumulative voting and cast all of the votes allotted to them. Finally, we find evidence of strategic use of cumulative voting in order to help elect a candidate of one’s choice. Conclusions. Our results indicate that voters are capable of effectively participating in elections with cumulative voting. Communities that are weighing the adoption of cumulative voting for local elections should also be prepared to implement a parallel voter education effort.
Bibliography:David C. Kimball will share all data and coding for replication purposes. The authors thank staff from the Village of Port Chester, particularly Elias Baez and Martha Lopez, and FairVote staff, particularly Rob Richie and Amy Ngai, for organizing volunteers to conduct the exit poll. We also thank Richard Engstrom for his comments on an earlier version of this article, and Cassie Myers for research assistance. This research was supported by FairVote, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the Village of Port Chester, New York. The authors alone are responsible for the analyses and interpretations in this article.
ArticleID:SSQU12277
ark:/67375/WNG-0NXHC4SF-1
istex:EB86C4545B9EE4498CE458005BEDF2CDBE5F6B86
David C. Kimball will share all data and coding for replication purposes. The authors thank staff from the Village of Port Chester, particularly Elias Baez and Martha Lopez, and FairVote staff, particularly Rob Richie and Amy Ngai, for organizing volunteers to conduct the exit poll. We also thank Richard Engstrom for his comments on an earlier version of this article, and Cassie Myers for research assistance. This research was supported by FairVote, the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the Village of Port Chester, New York. The authors alone are responsible for the analyses and interpretations in this article.
ISSN:0038-4941
1540-6237
DOI:10.1111/ssqu.12277