Split-ticket voting
Split-ticket voting or ticket splitting is when a voter in an election votes for candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided by a single election, as opposed to straight-ticket voting, where a voter chooses candidates from the same political party for every office up for election. Split-ticket voting can occur in certain mixed-member systems which allow for it, such as mixed-member proportional and parallel voting systems.
Consequently, in closed list electoral systems, which are used most notably in Argentina, Israel, South Africa, and Spain, voters are structurally unable to participate in split-ticket voting. These systems require individuals to vote for a party list, rather than for specific candidates in varying offices.
The behavior is often a result of candidate and voter dynamics; when individuals are evaluating elections based on each candidate's personal appeal, perceived performance, or connection to local issues, they are more likely to bypass partisan electoral norms. It has also been attributed to voters making a conscious choice to balance power in governmental branches between political parties.
By Country
Australia
In Australia, federal elections in recent times have usually involved a House of Representatives election and a half-Senate election occurring on the same day. The states, with the exception of Queensland and Tasmania, also hold elections for both houses of parliament simultaneously. An example of split-ticket voting in Australia is a voter who gives their first preference to the Liberal Party on the House of Representatives ballot paper and to the One Nation party in the Senate.In the 2013 election, the Senate vote for both the Liberal and Labor parties was considerably lower than their lower house vote, demonstrating that a large number of people voted for a major party in the House of Representatives and a minor party or micro-party in the Senate. There are many reasons why a voter may do this, including the fact that many parties only stand candidates for the Senate, the much lower quota required for election to the Senate compared to the House of Representatives, and a desire to check the power of the government by preventing it from controlling the Senate.
From 1978 to 2008, when the Australian Democrats held representation in the Senate, the Democrats benefited greatly from split-ticket voting, as their Senate vote was always much higher than their House of Representatives vote. The party built its campaigns around "keeping the bastards honest", a reference to holding the balance of power in the Senate so as to prevent the chamber from becoming either a rubber stamp for the government or a tool of obstruction for the opposition.
Ghana
federal presidential and parliamentary elections are held every four years, and local elections are held before or after a 6-month window. Presidents are elected using the two-round system, while MPs are elected with the first-past-the-post system.In Ghana, split-ticket voting is called skirt-and-blouse voting, and refers to voting for a President and member of parliament of different parties. It can be seen as a form of protest against particular presidential or legislative candidates, or as a vote of no confidence. The phenomenon of skirt and blouse voting has grown in recent years, with 11 constituencies voting skirt and blouse in 1996 compared to 26 constituencies voting skirt and blouse in 2012.
During the 2024 election, 12% of New Patriotic Party members said that they intended to vote skirt-and-blouse. National Democratic Congress candidate John Dramani Mahama advocated against skirt-and-blouse voting, stating that a strong majority in both the presidency and parliament would allow the government to be more effective.
Indonesia
During the 2024 Indonesian general election, despite winning the most votes in the legislative election in traditionally PDIP-supporting provinces such as Central Java and Bali, the PDIP presidential ticket, Ganjar-Mahfud, failed to secure victories in those provinces. A similar phenomenon occurred in East Java, where PKB won the most legislative votes, but its presidential ticket, Anies-Muhaimin, also failed to win the province. The eventual winner, Prabowo-Gibran, won 36 out of 38 provinces, securing 58% of the national vote.Italy
Since the reintroduction of a mixed electoral system in 2017, ticket splitting had been banned in national elections while some regions allow it. In the 2024 Sardinian regional election, centre-right candidate Paolo Truzzu received 45% losing the election while the parties who supported him got 48.4%. Some later accused of Lega of ticket splitting.Philippines
In the Philippines, elections for multiple positions are held on the same day. In elections where the presidency is at stake, the vice presidency is elected separately. Voters have split their ticket to provide checks and balances to the top two positions. In the operation of the 1987 constitution until 2022, the president and vice president came from different parties in three out of four elections. Having the elected president and vice president coming from different parties is seen as undesirable.The president may also endorse a senatorial slate, and candidates for House representatives and local officials; all of these are elected separately and voters may split their ticket down-ballot.
Split ticket presidential/vice presidential results:
- 1957 Philippine presidential election: Carlos P. Garcia was elected president, while Diosdado Macapagal was elected vice president
- 1992 Philippine presidential election: Fidel V. Ramos was elected president, while Joseph Estrada was elected vice president
- 1998 Philippine presidential election: Joseph Estrada was elected president, while Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was elected vice president
- 2010 Philippine presidential election: Benigno Aquino III was elected president, while Jejomar Binay was elected vice president
- 2016 Philippine presidential election: Rodrigo Duterte was elected president, while Leni Robredo was elected vice president
United Kingdom
United States
In the United States, multiple elections for many different offices are often held on the same day. This may be true of primary elections and may also include the placing of candidates for federal, state, and local offices on the same ballot. One of many possible examples of split-ticket voting in the United States is a voter who seeks to elect the Democratic Party's candidate for the Senate, the Republican Party's candidate for House of Representatives, the Green Party's candidate for County Supervisor, and the Libertarian Party's candidate for Coroner.One example is the 2004 Montana gubernatorial election, where Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Schweitzer was elected governor 50.4% to 46.0%, while incumbent Republican President George W. Bush defeated Democrat John F. Kerry 59% to 39%. This suggests that a large number of the electorate voted for a split-ticket, selecting a Republican presidential candidate and a Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate. One later example is the 2016 West Virginia gubernatorial election, where Democrat Jim Justice won by eight points while Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won in the state with 68% of the vote. Jim Justice later switched as a Republican in 2017. Four years later, in the 2020 United States Senate election in Maine, incumbent Susan Collins won by a 8.6% margin against Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, despite Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump in Maine by a 9.1% margin.
20th-Century history
Split-ticket voting in America was an electoral rarity before the 1950s; in 1948, for example, just six states split tickets between President and Senator. Political scientists generally locate the American emergence of ticket splitting in the 1950s and 1960s. As party loyalty began to decline and campaigns began centering around candidates, driven by television and emphasis on candidate image, voters became increasingly willing to evaluate leaders independently of party affiliation. By the late-1960s, split-ticket voting had become common in United States elections. The 1968 presidential election, specifically, featured a strong Electoral College victory for Republican nominee, Richard Nixon, while the Democratic Party maintained control of the House of Representatives by a significant 51-seat margin. Four years later, the nation reelected Nixon in one of the largest victories in American history, while simultaneously electing a Democratic majority in the House by a 50-seat margin.In 1976, the nation saw a reversal from the increase of split-ticket voting, as Democrats maintained sweeping majorities in both houses of Congress, and Jimmy Carter became the first Democrat to win the presidency since 1964. As a Southern Democrat and Governor of Georgia, Carter benefited from significant regional support in the American South and considerable disillusionment with the Republican Party following the Watergate scandal. Ultimately, the aligned federal government of the Carter years was short-lived: split-ticket voting began its peak just four years later with the election of Ronald Reagan, and a continued Democratic House majority in 1980. Over the course of the 1980s, the Republican Party won three consecutive presidential elections by significant margins, while the nation elected Democrats to lead the House for all 10 years, and the U.S. Senate from 1987-1989.
In the 1990s, split-ticket voting remained prominent in American elections, even as Bill Clinton won the presidency in both 1992 and 1996. The 1994 United States elections in particular resulted in the first Republican House of Representatives majority in forty years, and put Republicans back in the majority in the Senate for the first time since 1986. This electoral result has often been referred to as the "Republican Revolution," and was responsible for the rise of figures like Newt Gingrich.