Ballot Design Has a Sneaky Influence on Your Vote

[@someguy350]

I'm convinced a lot of the bad designs where intentional.

[@ToxicTerrance]

Most definitely.

[@TheIcyhydra]

*were

[@ladwarcoffee]

Still are

[@oldmech619]

Here in Los Angles, the Presidential names was way in the back at the bottom. Kanye West name was higher on the list than trump or Biden. Yes, Kanye West was on the Ballot for VP. I complained about the ballot location. They responded, that’s the way it is done by reg.

[@Haskellerz]

Just legally change your name to AAA

[@klutterkicker]

I feel the way people's eyes track as they examine a page and read might have an effect too. My state started the ballot with referenda but I almost skipped over two of them. The first is a long, detailed column of text with the Y/N squeezed into the bottom. Then comes normal-sized questions with their bubbles in the next column. Then when it looks like you're done, there's a single tiny question at the top corner of the final column. It's easy to say "how hard is it to read everything" but when you see it, they're easy to pass over. What's more insidious is that one or more of them count non-responses as "no."

[@alisoncircus]

Pretty clearly either the person(s) setting it up had specific preferences they were pushing, or that they had zero experience in pagination and presentation design. Either way, the wrong individual(s) were given the task.

[@rolfs2165]

In Germany, every separate question in an election is on a separate sheet. So the recent local election had three differently coloured sheets - mayor, city council, and ... a third one. Not only does this ensure that you can't miss one, it's also way easier to count. (Federal election has two votes on the same ballot - one personal, one party - and it's awful to count because you have to sort for one first, count, sort for the other, count, and if your numbers don't add up, you have to sort again before you can recount.)

[@sandyruitenberg2928]

@@rolfs2165 i was wondering how much they need to fill in when voting! But now I understand since you mentioned the seperate elections. In the Netherlands we also have those elections another time than the national election. The provincial election is another year, just as the local one which is also another time and a different balot. I always just have to fill one dot with a red pencil for the person I vote for and that is it.

[@MadMaxV]

Would you rather they count them as a yes? Or maybe.. Would u rather they assume ur not sure so count it as invalid? Or chase everyone who did not tick the box to ask them why they did not tick it?

[@rolfs2165]

@@MadMaxV Unmarked should _always_ count as invalid.

[@girlofanimation]

Especially on super long ballots, ppl get tired & lose interest down ballot. That's why I research each position/candidate and fill out my sample ballot starting weeks before actually voting. That way, I just bring my sample ballot and copy my selections onto the official ballot.

[@metricstormtrooper]

Start with numbering the people you hate most going up the list, then the people you like the most going down the list then how you number the others in the middle doesn't matter as much.

[@alisoncircus]

@@metricstormtrooper On the sample ballot. Or in other form in your advance research. Just making it perfectly clear because most spoiled ballots are due to extraneous or extra marks on it.

[@jarencascino7604]

I just dont vote for candidates i dont know

[@sicksniper256]

I actually did that during the last election here in Louisiana, I had written down the names of each bill I was going to vote for... only to find the ballot did not name the bills at all but instead used vague descriptions of each without the full text of the bills.

[@raerohan4241]

@@ESL-O.G. You mean smart and responsible citizen. If only more people were like that

[@KurtRichterCISSP]

YOU CAN GET A SAMPLE BALLOT, FILL IT OUT AT HOME, AND BRING IT TO THE POLL. Sorry to yell, but it seems a lot of people don't know this. Contact your local Supervisor of Elections!

[@HeidiThompson7]

I do this so I can take my time and research everything.

[@scaper8]

Unfortunately, this seems to be one of those things that are _not_ standard. A few years ago I moved from one state (Arizona) to another (Iowa). In AZ a sample ballot was mailed to registered voters automatically a few weeks beforehand. Easy; esearch candidates and propositions, fill it out, take it with me to my polling place. Iowa? Not so much. I don't even think Iowa has an official sample ballot, I haven't been able to find one at least. Things like ballotpedia has _some,_ but nothing official and rarely complete.

[@Xatzimi]

Yes but that doesn't change anything about this particular case. The sort of people who would contact an elections office are obviously not the sort of people who are going to give the ballot one glance and pick the top name

[@KCsMMOs]

You yelled so loud my ears hurt

[@KurtRichterCISSP]

@@KCsMMOs I feel just terrible. Here, have some silence: ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .

[@cmoore6131]

Meanwhile, in NJ, legalizing cannabis via voter referendum is on the _back_ of the ballot.

[@Tismitch]

In Australia, voting is compulsory so you get a lot of people (like up to 5%) not caring about who they're actually voting for and will just write 1 2 3 4 5 6 etc across the ballot. To help prevent unfair advantages of the controlling party the order of names on the ballot is literally drawn from a bingo ball tumbler so there is always a celebration by the party that gets 1st position because that can sometimes be the difference between labor or liberal winning the election.

[@erin9377]

Can confirm. I live in the electorate which had the highest proportion of One Nation votes last federal election. Guess which candidate got drawn at the top of the ballot?

[@Groaker]

It still boggles my mind that some people happily admit they do this. It's like happily admitting to being a dumbass.

[@climateanxiety3349]

CcReap3r I’d rather have 5% voting dumb than 45% that don’t vote at all. That 40% outweighs the 5 to me

[@Joesolo13]

@@CcReap3r it's not terrible, but you should be able to spill your ballot or have a 'none of the above' option

[@neosaneo2]

@@CcReap3r yeah they always talk about how great compuslory voting is and skip the part where they didn't have to wait six hours in line to cast their ballot.

[@dave900575]

Voting is a right, but it is also a responsibility. Do your research on the candidates and ballot questions before election day and take your time to read and understand what your voting for at the polls. They'll wait.

[@adaroben1104]

I don't know about you but I don't have the energy to take a week per voting item to properly investigate the issues.

[@brocksamson3282]

technically, voting _isn't_ a right.

[@raerohan4241]

@@adaroben1104 that's no excuse. There are resources like isidewith.com that take hardly a few hours of your time to use

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

@laser325 that is simply your opinion of how you mistrust the system. Which likely means you don't vote. And if you don't vote, you really don't have an excuse to complain.

[@adaroben1104]

@@raerohan4241 Does it unbiasedly explain the socioeconomic impacts of local resolutions and can verify a candidate will act according to their stance with competence? How does it hold officials actions to account? Unless you're a part of the ruling system you're not well informed enough to know what impacts will be had with any depth, broadly speaking. Even then I don't believe they can singularly understand all of the impacts. How should I choose between two people saying they'll fix a problem with very different methods? If I believe they're acting in good faith then either may be equally valid. In the end you're just picking whatever philosophy you believe is more correct, more beneficial to yourself, whoever is more pleasing and reassuring. Without specific understanding on a specific subject the election is facile; you're voting for popularity, not hiring for a position. That and you're really not given a choice to vote actual conscience but whoever filters through a political club to get on a ballot. There is no people's vote to restructure the government to better represent them, but for whoever is going to hold the leash next.

[@mortalspiral]

Proof that UI/UX is important in more than just video games

[@eklectiktoni]

I was thinking this!

[@gusvanskike4889]

You know Hank was just like "How can we encourage people to vote but also make it scientific?"

[@drstone1167]

🆘Found a $10 bill with a message on it that reads: “If they can put serial numbers on all US money why can’t they do it on election ballots” ? It makes sense but democrats would never approve since it would make it harder for them to cheat in elections and liberals would call it racists like they do to everything they don’t like or approve of.

[@martinmercy2835]

This why Arthur the Aardvark will inevitably become our next president

[@martinmercy2835]

or at least chief comptroller

[@ValeriePallaoro]

Is it alpha organised on the ballot?

[@amethyst1826]

@@martinmercy2835 He might do a helluva better job than the one you've got now 🤣

[@bobby_greene]

I'm voting for Aaron

[@zone07]

I wouldn't mind voting for an Aardvark with our current presidential choices here in the U.S.

[@heroichitsuji]

This is why I think science should be involved in EVERYTHING.

[@williamtael8379]

Good luck with ethics.

[@ACuriousTanuki]

@@williamtael8379 because standards for evidence, internal consistency, and justified reasoning have no place in ethics? If you're trying to differentiate science from philosophy, they're two sides of the same coin, examining different areas but joined by the same tenets of logic. They both inform and reflect on each other to refine and improve and progress their respective fields. Pure, abstract Ethics is a core branch of philosophy, but it is lived by people and the interaction of the theoretical and the practical is observed in the sciences of psychology, anthropology, history, etc.

[@DavidHenderson1]

But bro, the Bible says we should be voting with sacrifices! Everyone's gotta bring their first-born son to the sacrificial altar representing the candidate of their choosing! It's God's word!

[@williamtael8379]

@@ACuriousTanuki Just try to determine why the social respect for self-propriety and acquired proprieties is important as a rule, using science, without falling into Hume's guilhotine. Good luck!

[@Quintinohthree]

@@williamtael8379 Good luck doing that without an examination of physical reality.

[@wholenutsanddonuts5741]

I’ve always thought this was possible. Thanks for the episode. It’s important information

[@jamesrockybullin5250]

It's brilliant watching Michael Aranda's transformation into Keanu Reaves in real time.

[@sandybarnes887]

Rona hair 💇 😆

[@michaelcartmell7428]

"Read the instructions carefully, and don't be afraid to take your time". Try telling that to someone that has just waited EIGHT hours outside standing in line to get into the polling venue.

[@alexseguin5245]

You're from the USA?

[@alexwalker8422]

The lack of bias is awesome, it's been a while since I've seen something so beautiful

[@tianamatson]

Hey, my county totally randomizes the order on ballots!! I found this out on accident because I post a picture on reddit of one of the candidates I was voting for. Other Redditors in my area said their ballots looked different. Way to go team! 😄

[@thebelletoll7033]

I’m a political junkie but I do appreciate that there was no politics just science.

[@kevinmcarthur2039]

Right! It is a breath of fresh air, isn't it?

[@tylerkrug7719]

You need rehab

[@eriknicholas7294]

Vote Senator Palpatine!

[@tylerkrug7719]

@@eriknicholas7294 don't vote

[@kevinmcarthur2039]

@Calm Haitus It matters because political ideology is what divides people into "us vs them" camps and simple process like ballot format gets intentionally manipulated to give advantage to one over the other. Also, a lot of us are tired of the "orange man bad" and "sleepy Joe" morons that can't have any conversation without beating everyone over the head with your personal political opinions. If your ideology must be expressed in every conversation you engage in no matter the topic, then it has become unhealthy and perhaps you aren't mature enough to be entrusted with something as important as voting.

[@peacewillow]

if i care enough to vote, as i do this year, i print out a copy of my official sample ballot, then do my research and fill it out. i then take that sample ballot with me on voting day and copy the results on to my actual ballot. just makes it easier, especially when you have a 4 page ballot, like i do this year.

[@_Corn_on_the_Cob_]

Thank you for keeping episode neutral. We don’t need any fights in the comment section.

[@SonOfTheDawn515]

They're still happening.

[@grahamrankin4725]

In Oregon, the order is randomized. Also in a statistics class our son took in grad school, the prof gave them the data from the 2000 butterfly ballot. Their conclusion was that sufficient voters mistakenly voted for Buchanon thinking they were voting for Gore. Had the ballot been clearer Gore would have been President instead of Bush.

[@karm65]

My usual voting strategy is to favor replacing whoever is currently in office unless there is a good reason not to.

[@kevinmcarthur2039]

Interesting, a "reform voter". Oddly enough, I use the opposite logic if I don't know the candidates or the issues. If I haven't heard any good reason to replace the incumbent by election day, then they are probably doing a good job. To each their own!

[@MrNicoJac]

Giving newcomers a chance isn't a half-bad approach 🤔 Kinda reminds me of this: [Revisionist History] The Powerball Revolution #revisionistHistory podcastaddict.com/episode/109086097 via @PodcastAddict Also available here: revisionisthistory.com/episodes/44-the-powerball-revolution

[@kevinmcarthur2039]

@Peters6221 I can agree with that. Keep them on their toes and reinventing their platform.

[@karm65]

@Peters6221 my home state of Oklahoma the same people or someone they back have been in office for years. and the state of the state is not good. unless you're in thick with the good old boys club you don't last long. and the state is suffering from it.

[@tomtheplummer7322]

I vote NO on retention for all Judges. Let them find a new job. If they are any good, companies will be hiring them in minutes.

[@SuperTonyony]

I'm going to vote for Aaron A. Aaronson.

[@pranavlimaye]

Personally, my beliefs align more strongly with Aaaaa A. AAAAAAAAAA but I respect your opinion

[@thatcrazywolf]

I've asked others who voted in Texas what the order of candidates was. It seems the order of candidates is randomized here in Texas.

[@Ruby-xk8kn]

I did vote counting once, this is in australia, and so many people just do their preferential voting as 1 2 3 4 5 6 in a row, no thought put into it. So whoevers name is on 1 is getting more votes than they should.

[@David-zi9nr]

Yup

[@Tismitch]

That is called a donkey vote and is often like 5% of the total votes. To stop deliberate advantages for the ballot designers the names are actually drawn out randomly like a lottery or bingo to determine order on the ballot which is why the parties aren't clustered etc. There is always a celebration by the party that gets the number 1 spot, I remember K Rudd got first spot when he was elected.

[@metricstormtrooper]

That's why the ballots are randomised here.

[@mpdavis731]

Is also different as in the US voting isn't mandatory.

[@Ruby-xk8kn]

@@mpdavis731 its mandatory here but heaps of people just cop the fine instead of voting. But we do have a much higher voter turnout than usa does. Not sure why anyone would throw away their one chance to have a say in their government.

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

You had to click "next page" to vote for bernie on my electronic ballot. No other things you had to vote for did that and the button was not obvious

[@herranton]

Although, I agree, that isn't right, but if you're voting for bernie, you probably go out of your way to find him. It isn't like people will just be like: "oh, I thought bernie was running, I guess he changed his mind". I doubt it had a large effect on bernie, but on a smaller election, like for county sheriff or something, it would probably decide the outcome.

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

@St0rm Ranger CoNgRaTs YoU vOtEd FoR bIdEn

[@mozismobile]

In Australia the "Donkey Vote" gets 1-3% of the vote. Name confusion also helps - in NSW the "Liberal Democrats" got a senate seat because they came before the "Liberals" on the ballot and the extra votes took them from being technically a party to actually being elected. (the Liberal Party is usually the second largest with ~30-40% of the vote)

[@magical_catgirl]

The "donkey vote" is mostly because of mandatory voting and is often used by people who didn't want to vote in the first place (but don't want to be fined for not getting their name marked off the electoral roll). None of the major parties in Australia deserve to be voted for.

[@mozismobile]

I disagree with that two ways: voting is the major way citizens have to influence their government. By opting out you're saying "I am happy with the most terrible option" rather than "I would prefer something better". Especially in Australia with preferential voting, you can literally rank them from least horrible to most horrible, and many times you can stop after a certain number so you don't even have to rank the most rank (which is, again, saying "I like these all equally" when for most people that's not true) And the false dichotomy between "major" and "minor" parties hasn't worked in Australia for more than 50 years. We're governed by "The Coalition" right now, federally and in NSW... but The Nationals would no doubt be offended at being called a minor party. The studies I've seen suggest that the ballot order effect extended far beyond unwilling voters, and having scrutineered a few times the smart unwilling voters spoil their ballot or leave it blank rather than voting at all.

[@jenniferschmitzer299]

mozismobile ha! ( in mode de know wot you mean and lived the thing but don’t ever wanna ‘gain)

[@tsp312]

Why should people who have no interest or knowledge about the political issues vote when they don't want to? If anything it should be actively discouraged seeing as how they aren't going to make a genuine decision. Voting should only be an option for those who actively desire it, not for everyone who couldn't care less. Even when a preferential system, that's assuming they care enough to even know what the parties/candidates represent.

[@eternalephemera]

Hence the Robson Rotation system used in Tasmania and the ACT, where names are printed randomly to cancel the donkey vote effect.

[@fep_ptcp883]

In Brazil you write the number of your candidate on the voting machine. Each party has a 2 digit number assigned. Guess there are some effects to be studied here too

[@massimookissed1023]

Would I be wrong in thinking any two-digit number counts as a vote for Bolsonaro ?

[@JessieBanana]

When it comes to really long ballots I am very happy I live in Oregon. I have weeks at home with my ballot. I can research for as long as I want and take breaks. The election we had in the Spring for the primary took me hours to complete, there were so many measures and positions to be filled on the local level.

[@unidentifiedbipedallifeform]

Get informed and make your decision before you vote. That’s what everyone should always do but how many of us actually do our homework?

[@ConchitaProductions]

Very few, that should be different this time around now that a great majority are stuck at home with nothing better to do.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

@@ConchitaProductions yeah, "should be," but will it be?

[@route2070]

The way Dupage County in Illinois does it is great, the only issue is on larger elections there is a second side to the one sheet we use, some people may not realize it. I think last time I came across this, I only realised it when I picked it up when I was done. The poll workers probably said something, but after being focused on the vote, I probably forgot about it.

[@andrewbellino7449]

I wish you elaborated on how they managed to seperate the diffrence of media coverage and canidate popularity but good video non the less

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Um... is English your first language?

[@andrewbellino7449]

@@MaryAnnNytowl um... Are you capable of answering a simple question?

[@travcollier]

Source is in the video description. I suspect it would take more than a few minutes to try and explain it. :)

[@andrewbellino7449]

@@travcollier thanks, I didnt even realize they sourced things I wish they said "check out our sources in the description" or somthing along those lines.

[@travcollier]

@@andrewbellino7449 Glad you didn't just take that as me just being snarky... I was only trying to be a little bit snarky ;) Honestly, I'm rather curious too, but should be working right now -_-

[@DaxMicro]

In France, we have piles of paper with the names of the candidates. We're supposed to take one of each, go into isolation, put one in the secret envelope, keep the rest on ourselves or discard them in the bin in the isolation booth, come out of the booth and go cast our vote and sign the registry. And we only vote for one thing at time, we don't have elections were we have to vote on laws and elect a plethora of people at the same time.

[@Quintinohthree]

Which is still a bit problematic, because you have to show you are voting for one of a few candidates whose ballots you pick. Should really have uniform ballots to mark to indicate your vote.

[@DaxMicro]

@@Quintinohthree You're also allowed to come to the voting location with your own ballots (that you normally received by mail the week or two weeks prior) and of course nothing forbids you from putting a blank one or writing your own, they won't be counted, but you can still do it

[@Quintinohthree]

@@DaxMicro So everyone receives a paper per candidate in the mail plus an envelope they can drop off on polling day? That seems more reasonable. Also, why wouldn't a self-written ballot with the name of an actual candidate be counted?

[@Ikajo]

@@Quintinohthree Because they are not official, it is similar in Sweden. You do get ballots in the mail but there are plenty of them available at the voting location too

[@DaxMicro]

@@Quintinohthree You have to take the envelope at the polling place, they're re-used from election to election, but yes you receive a paper per candidate in the mail. If the name of the actual candidate is on the ballot, I'm sure it will be counted, but since there's papers with the names of the candidate AT the polling place, it would be weird to write a name when you can just as easily pick the paper on the table.

[@HeidiThompson7]

I remember there was a city election on my ballot years ago and I didn't know any of the contenders but one was named Scotty Bowman, the same name as the legendary Detroit Red Wings coach that is a household name in Michigan. I bet he got more votes for that reason.

[@hart-of-gold]

In Australia, Many older Pollies had surnames starting with A or B, because before the mid 90's names were listed alphabetically, they are now drawn from a hat. We use Instant Run Off voting, for our house of reps, where you rank choices. People would put their first choice then number the rest starting at the top. The top of the list gets a huge advantage in second choice votes and if they are for a major party they will very likely win because of that effect.

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

They don't tell you that you can leave choices blank and your ballot will still be counted

[@PredictableEnigma]

If you are voting for candidates then you can leave it blank. If you are being asked to vote yes or no on a policy and leave it blank then many places will count that as a No. So always carefully read and vote on those.

[@Stratelier]

In Oregon, the voter's pamphlet discloses that candidates are listed on the ballot by last name sorted in a randomized order (and what the specific order for the given election is). Note, of course, this order is consistent between ballots (practical/logistical reasons), i.e. it only changes from one election to the next.

[@daanwilmer]

So much news about the American elections make me so glad to live in the Netherlands, where it's so much easier to vote. Our ballot is simply a large piece of paper, with a column for every party, with every candidate listed with their name, gender, and city they live in, and a circle next to them that has to be coloured in with a red pencil to cast a vote. When there were 28 parties last election, some people wanted to make the ballot two sided, but the minister decided that it was more important to have it one sided, and thus our ballots can be a meter (about three feet) wide if necessary. The reason why we here in The Netherlands and in Belgium vote for the top most candidate, though, is that we mostly vote for a party, not necessarily a candidate. We then choose the first candidate, or the first candidate of a specific gender, or the highest that we find agreeable based on some other heuristic.

[@emlun]

Elections in Sweden work similarly, except there's a separate ballot for each party. You just take one (and only one) of the party ballots and put it in the envelope, you don't even need to mark anything unless you also want to vote for a specific candidate in that party.

[@Noztube]

TLDR: There's a lot of clueless people voting

[@KurtRichterCISSP]

Seriously. That butterfly ballot has arrows going directly from the name to the GD hole and people are like "THIz too hrd 🥴🥴🥴" 🤦‍♂️

[@JammastaJ23]

Think of the most ignorant moron you know over the age of 18. Their vote counts the same as yours. Democracy is a wonderful, stupid system.

[@cmoore6131]

Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that. -George Carlin

[@connor863]

That "Butterfly Ballot" looks weird af. It's almost like it was designed to confuse voters...

[@ThePainkillerDemon]

Here in Czechia, we dont use ballots, instead for every candidate, or party, we have separate paper. At the poll you get the envelope and put one paper in it, then you throw that in seal box. I think this is much better system

[@Quintinohthree]

Those are called ballots.

[@Skwertydogs]

All ballots should include the option of voting "against" someone. For those who would prefer not to vote "for" anyone your vote would still count against the candidate you dislike the most. This would certainly encourage more people to vote.

[@kevinmcarthur2039]

Interesting suggestion and brings up an important issue I personally have had deciding who to vote for in the last few Presidential elections. I can't count the number of times I have said "I didn't vote for Trump, I voted against Hillary" when a political conversation dissolves into the very popular name calling because I won't agree on their every point. I have always been a moderate, a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. I remember as a kid in the 90's seeing Congressional floor maps on TV and such that had blue seats on one side, red seats on the other and purple seats in the middle. These days it is all the way red or all the way blue. Us moderates have been marginalized by the ever increasing polarity of todays political landscape. Some can't imagine that a conservative could also believe in a woman's right to choose what she does with her own body, and really couldn't care less who anyone decides to date or marry. My question before deciding to be counted "against" instead of "for" someone is, what impact would it have? Would my vote just become a footnote in the election outcome? If so, I would probably be more apt to simply vote Libertarian.

[@heathroush5343]

The first time I voted had the butterfly design. I thought it was interesting, but definitely confusing. Where I live now is much more straight forward, but all the candidates are alphabetical in order, so it would be interesting to know how order affected the results.

[@Great_Olaf5]

"Sit down with your ballot." Sit? We don't sit. Our voting booths are standing. Although since they're at waist height I end up kneeling most of the time. I think it's part of the handicap access regulations, since they're perfect height for people in wheelchairs.

[@Quintinohthree]

Where I've been wheelchair accessible polling stations have a separate lower booth for wheelchair users to vote, all with the same protections.

[@nicholaslewis8594]

At least in my area (Virginia) there has always been chairs where I vote. If you get a paper copied mailed to you then you could sit down at home fill it out and then just copy it at the polling station (if you’re voting in person)?

[@JOMFSE]

I thought you were going to say it’s intentionally uncomfortable so you hurry up and leave. Like city/ park benches

[@henrychan720]

So basically, name your kid Aaron if you want him to be a politician.

[@sandro5535]

In Sweden all voting papers are in the middle of the room so everyone sees what you vote. Really bad design.

[@chris7263]

This is actually one of the really nice things about mail in ballots? You can sit with the thing for hours, pouring over each election and researching the candidates and the arguments, like homework instead of a test. And you can take as long as you want to puzzle over the layout, too. There's no rush; no one is waiting for you to finish.

[@arcaneusumbra1539]

Game was rigged from the start.

[@nemonomen3340]

Always was.

[@thehillbillyengineer3795]

How about the million dollar question, "Is it possible to design a ballot that doesn't influence someone?"

[@kevinmcarthur2039]

Same question as can a human make a design that is truly random? No, the process of conscience randomization is in fact a pattern that will emerge eventually. The designers of the ballot, whether intending influence or intending to not be influence, will impart their own bias into it somehow.

[@jer103]

Who else has gone in to fill there ballot, and just started picking random names. Most people voting are grossly uninformed about every candidate, so you just pick a name or stick to a certain party.

[@sophierobinson2738]

Jeremy Thelen If there's info on the net, I check them out. And I vote for women.

[@guar67]

@@sophierobinson2738 that is sexist.

[@maxybaer123]

@@guar67 its not like we are required to vote in a particular way. we can vote for whatever reason we want lol.

[@ZeldagigafanMatthew]

This becomes a serious issue the further down the ballot we go. Mainly because there isn't that much info about these down ballot offices out there.

[@aviendha1154]

Most of the time it won't really matter who you vote for. No governments are offering real positive change for the average person.

[@pututeguhdharmawijaya1722]

In my country, political candidates sueing each other for higher “number” in ballot even though it’s clearly randomisedly picked on camera using agreed method

[@Ikajo]

This is the reason why ballots in Sweden alternates between male and female names. It is also really easy to vote. You take the ballots of the party you want to vote for, go hide behind a screen where you put it in an envelope, seal it and then drop it off. At the bottom of the envelope is a small cutout so the workers can see that you have voted properly and sort the vote for each level of government (national, regional and local)

[@Chris-op7yt]

If you're a pollie, change your name to start with Aaa....just like business names used to do in the days of paper based business directories.

[@GoErikTheRed]

This is why I vote by mail. I spent three hours this year researching all the candidates/propositions as I filled out my ballot

[@seerexplorer9578]

_Thanks For English subtitles..._

[@mastring1966]

sounds like the incumbent should be listed last in every case. They already have a massive advantage, putting them at the bottom of the ballot might even that out a little.

[@davetoms1]

Canadian here. Canada's ballots are so simple you simply cannot mess them up. I'm actually impressed how awful your American ballots are. No joke, it's impressive how such terrible designs could be conceived, suggested, discussed, approved, created, distributed, and used without y'all starting a civil war over your election process. ...oh. Maybe I'm speaking too soon. Sorry neighbors.

[@sandybarnes887]

Happy Thanksgiving, eh. Gobble Gobble

[@fifiaXD]

I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice

[@sandybarnes887]

@@fifiaXD what's not nice in what my fellow Canuck iterated?

[@davetoms1]

my apologies @@fifiaXD - Honestly didn't mean to throw shade but in retrospect that's probably what I did. Please accept my apologies. I hope your voting system gets easier for all and gets a redesign inspired from either the Canadian system or an even better system I might not be aware of

[@masonp1314]

@@davetoms1 nah dude, most Americans don't like the way things are. Especially the poverty, and lower class.

[@InezAllen]

this is really interesting! this is the first year I've gotten to vote, and I definitely noticed that for myself, especially in my local primaries where many of the candidates didn't have any information about them anywhere online. i realized about halfway through that I'd rather just not vote when I don't have enough information, but for at least a couple of positions I basically ended up picking the one with the name I liked best

[@brad885]

Which is why if you aren't educated on the office, it's duties, or the candidates, you should not vote on it.

[@Libratarot]

I print out an official sample ballot from the vote org site for my district, then I spend about 10 days before Nov 3rd making my choices. I am not stressed, I am confident in my choices and, I can ignore everything political until I am ready.

[@scotthendricks5665]

The top left position (first) of 1m long upper house ballots in Australia usually get 2.5% more votes on the bottom right (last).

[@Ruby-xk8kn]

Yeah i did vote counting in aus and noticed that trend, people are lazy. Also people dont know how to count to 6 haha.

[@Dukenukem]

We have order on the ballot baked directly into the voting method. You already know what party you will vote for (and the order of parties IS randomized), but you might have a slight confusion whoe exactly from the party you might want (or not), so there you have preferential votes, if you select (up to 4) people on the party ballot they get your "preferential vote" and that is reflected on the final result when party gets X seats on who will be in those. if you just cast vote for the party, person 1-4 will get the votes. the order is done by the party.

[@pairot01]

If you still don't know who you're voting for until you get in the booth, then you shouldn't really be voting

[@dejapoo5508]

SPOT ON !!!!!!!

[@annefoley6950]

Oh god that butterfly ballot gave me vivid flashbacks. Kinda like that "plop plop fizz fizz" commercial. But with my parents and grandparents and Al Gore

[@calvinteh3297]

Asking someone to research a candidate before voting is like asking a student to research before writing a report.

[@darianr.6143]

Colorado ballots do this quite well, a few weeks before the election you receive a booklet with detailed descriptions of every candidate and policy on the ballot, you can also fill in your ballot at home which lowers the pressure of being in the booth and you can do research at the same time if you have any questions.

[@o0Avalon0o]

What's helped me has been looking at the local website for the board of election, they have an example ballot there, looking at it helps me familiarize myself with it.

[@illesizs]

Statistics also say that when you have to wait up to 8 hours in line, you are less likely to "take your time" and "read the instructions carefully".

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Well, I would think otherwise. If one must wait in line for 8 hours, one has a very, very important reason to make sure they vote OUT the ones that made it necessary for them to have to wait such an incredibly long time!

[@kevindemeritt]

It took me a couple hours to vote. I voted from home and researched every candidate before voting for the particular section.

[@chrisagnew2923]

I highly recommend absentee voting or at least finding an official sample ballot online. Research the candidates and questions before you vote.

[@DangerDurians]

If you’re in America, do you’re research ahead of time, Ballotpedia is a life saver

[@MonochromeWench]

in Australia the name order is randomized in each district. while this can give some candidates an advantage in a specific district. Nationwide it should even out giving no party an advantage

[@YearwigY]

In Tasmania we have the 'Robinson rotation', where the name order on the ballots is randomised.

[@paraniomia]

In Australia you can vote for a party (1-5 and the party select the candidates order of preference) or individually of each candidate running (1-31), the first allows their popular candidates a higher chance of getting in. We've had candidates actually leave a party because they were given the bottom spot, purely because of this reason. www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/rp/2007-08/08rp05-3.jpg is an example. The order across the page is drawn basically out of a hat, and is random, and is also known to weigh into the preference for elections here.

[@jonasholzer4422]

God I love his hair 😍 Also great video!

[@sandybarnes887]

Yeah! Looks like Rona hair

[@geoffrey3668]

As a Belgian, I must add an important details: the order of the name in the list is not random. The order of the name in the list is planned by the party and the 1st name is the candidate of the party. And, if you vote for the party instead picking a name in the list, your vote goes directly to the head of the list of the party, meaning the 1st person in the list of candidate. This person on the top of the list (1st name of the list), is the person who going to be chosen by the party to be a minister if the party is in the government.

[@andrewweaver2517]

Yo, SciShow!, I got my pins! Thank you. Rocking them on my hat right now, ready for my fellow scishow pinners to call me out in public for some juicy dork-talk. Much love!

[@edrdnc6706]

Go online to your state's Department of Voters, find a downloadable PDF of your specific ballot, (based on your address and registered party, etc). Use that for research and mark it up. Take it in to vote, and the actual voting will only take a couple of minutes.

[@richardjanowski7219]

3:56 I don't remember ever having seen the infamous butterfly ballot from Florida in 2000. That is awful.

[@Lillith.]

I like the unwieldy ballot you get in the Netherlands. All parties are listed from biggest to smallest from last election and candidates in an order the party sends in. Most people have an idea which party they want or at least absolutely don't want. Within the party it doesn't matter all that much. Most will go with the party leader either way. There have been elections where number two overtook number one and within the party changed leader.

[@connor863]

Randomizing the order in which names appear on ballots seems like a good idea. Making sure that all the candidates are listed first, second, third etc the same number of times on all of the ballots overall.

[@caspian8650]

Can't imagine not having a mail-in ballot. It's so much easier to go at your own pace in your own home where you can comfortably google candidates!

[@mickaelherzock323]

Hearing about other systems, I think the one we have in France appear fairly efficient. We take an envelop on a table, on which there's also papers each one with the name of the candidate. We grab a bunch, go to a booth, and pick which name to put in the envelop out of the bunch we have (I say a bunch because we can't take juste one but it's ridiculous to take them all). There's very little chances of mistakes or cheating, and it doesn't require any special design or material. Sometimes simpler is better.

[@michaelwinter742]

Once there was a candidate named “MaryJane” something running for a small office. You know I voted for her.

[@cuspsoftheoverworld]

In Australia we call it the donkey vote. Some people just vote down the list (we have preferential voting). We do randomize our ballot papers in at least one jurisdiction (ACT).

[@NikolajLepka]

The Danish election ballot is a ludicrously long piece of card stock folded in thirds (Think CVS receipt and you're in the right ballpark) Each party is listed in alphabetical order by their party letter (not the first letter of the party name, this is important), and then each party then has each of the candidates listed alphabetically under the party label. You can then choose to either put an X in the box next to the party name (if you don't care which candidate wins) or the candidate name.

[@TheCuriousGuyYT]

*Fun Fact* : In Estonia you can cast your vote online !! ~ Facts by Curious JB

[@Quintinohthree]

Sad fact, because it's bad.

[@llydrsn]

The first time a Partylist election was held in the Philippines (wherein people will have to vote for parties or sectors they want to be represented in the House of Representatives), there was an obvious preference for the parties listed first in the ballot (probably because at that time, only a few people had a set preference or even awareness about the Partylist system). This resulted in the following elections wherein almost 80% of all candidate parties/sectors had names starting with A (the partylist for Architects even named their party simply as "A") or the number 1 to be nearer the top of the ballot. Of course, with what happened even to almost the last column of the candidates list the parties' names still start with A. This was remedied by eventually raffling off the positions where each party will be listed.

[@wombat.6652]

Yup , we have known about this in Australia for decades. It is called the donkey vote. The electoral commission has techniques to avoid it making a huge difference overall. ps. it is compulsory to vote here - some people deliberately put in a blank vote, no marks at all. Some people put in a donkey vote, they are counted, but don't make a significant difference. Some people sometimes put in a blank vote as a protest vote, and the pollies and news reporters do pay attention to that the number of blank votes. If it is high, they know they are all in trouble.

[@brandonkelley6500]

Well now I am really curious. Imagine if the ballots did not say what party (R, D, G, L) the person was, or even who the incumbent is. You literally were just given the position, and the list of names of the people who are running, with no indication what party they are. Candidates would have to work MUCH harder to get their name known. How many people know who is running for railroad commissioner , let alone who their RR commissioner is? This would very much encourage random voting and prevent the "straight ticket" voters.

[@Quintinohthree]

Alternatively, the big parties would have the resources to get every candidate's name out there while the small parties would have trouble and thus straight party ticket voting would actually increase.

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

In March, I voted for the judges. I chose all female names to have some fun with it.

[@Expat47]

A batch of years ago the state of Florida was offered, fee of charge, a voting program to be written by one of the top coders in the world and refused. Why??? An incorruptible, easy to use system with no kickbacks?

[@Rien--]

daily reminder: eagles mate while airborne

[@nicholasn.2883]

No way

[@157ares5]

That's dope

[@hannayoung9657]

I am liking the Swedish system more and more, much easier to vote and know who are voting for.

[@aurumonca3760]

Australian Capital Territory is using the robson rotation method to deal with this, awesome :)

[@magical_catgirl]

and has done so for ages.

[@tardvandecluntproductions1278]

Dutch ballots (that are HUGE btw, 25 parties with a artificial amount of names to the amount they think they will get in + some more, per party) go left to right with parties and names within parties top to bottom (sometimes more rows). When in doubt, top name is the leader of the party so just go for that person. I actually don't know if anyone ever got a seat in their party earlier by people voting on their specific name. Most people just vote the leader so their amount of seats just trickles down the list.

[@Quintinohthree]

As matter of fact, the most recent national election saw four candidates jump above their rank, Lilianne Ploumen (PvdA), Maurits von Martels (CDA), Isabelle Diks and Lisa Westerveld (both GL), Westerveld having been bumped out by Diks had it not been for making the cut by a margin of just 302 votes (one of which I'm happy to say was mine) and bumping out Paul Smulders above her instead.

[@freshbingo]

SCISHOW: WHY DOESN'T WATCHING SCARY MOVIES COUNT AS CARDIO?

[@MusicIan423]

Talk about bad ballot design - there was a state question about expanding Medicaid in my state, and the name of the question was all about where the money was coming from (tobacco awareness programs), and the description said it would be given to the legislature for other allocation, and not once mentioned the term "Medicaid" even though that was the purpose of the reallocation of the funds. It was so scummy and deceptive it should be illegal if it isn't already.

[@BobHutton]

I would have thought ballot order would be a bigger problem where voting is compulsory and you are required to number each candidate (like here in Australia). Some disinterested voters will inevitably just number the boxes 1, 2, 3 etc from top to bottom (donkey vote). It is usually considered to be worth 1 or 2 per cent of the total vote

[@jeramyinzunza1374]

Good work. Love it❤🤙

[@Kuichio]

Honestly? My suggested cause of the name order boost would simply be that some people don't know who they want to vote for, so they vote for the higher, seemingly more popular, name.