POLYAS Election Glossary

We provide explanations and background information on elections, voting rights and digital democracy

Split-ticket voting

Split-ticket voting is a practice whereby individual voters spread their votes across multiple parties during an election. This type of voting occurs in elections in which more than one office is up for election. It is seen as the alternative counterpart to straight-ticket voting.

For example, in the 2016 United States presidential elections, all eligible voters were able to cast votes for their preferred presidential candidate (through the electoral college system), as well as for a candidate for the House of Representatives in their voting district. Additionally, 34 Senate positions were contested in the election. Thus, an example of split-ticket voting is having the ablility to vote for Republican Donald Trump as president, whilst voting for Democratic Party candidates in both the House of Representatives and the Senate

In Australian national parliamentary elections, voters also elect both a member of the House of Representatives and Senators for individual states and territories. An example of split-ticket voting in this context would be a voter marking the Labor Party candidate in their voting district as their first preference, whilst preferring the Green Party list of candidates in the Senate.

See also: US Congress, Straight-ticket voting, Presidential Election


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