One strike and you're out! The Master Lever's effect on senatorial policy-making



Hengel, Erin ORCID: 0000-0002-2039-3521, Gorelkina, Olga ORCID: 0000-0002-0873-8873 and Grypari, Ioanna
One strike and you're out! The Master Lever's effect on senatorial policy-making. [Internet Publication]

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Abstract

We investigate the impact a straight-ticket voting option—a.k.a. the Master Lever—has on U.S. senators’ roll-call voting records in Congress. Using difference-in-differences, we find the Master Lever leads to a 3–6 percent rightward shift in senators’ policy positions. The effect is largely driven by the Republican party. To interpret our results, we analyse the Master Lever’s impact on electoral incentives and outcomes. Our findings suggest that ballot design has a non-negligible impact on policy-making. They also imply that electoral outcomes in moderate to right-leaning Master Lever states may be especially vulnerable to right-wing, non-partisan voters.

Item Type: Internet Publication
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 21 Jan 2021 09:25
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 23:05
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3111519