Election Roll-Off: A Test of Three Explanations

In: Urban affairs review, Band 32, Heft 1, S. 71-86

Abstract

The authors use the 1993 municipal election in Atlanta, Georgia, and a special election to fill two vacancies on the Fulton County (Georgia) Commission to test ballot-confusion, saliency-of-the-contest, and voter-fatigue explanations for roll-off (ballot noncompletion). No evidence of the ballot-confusion explanation is found, but some evidence of voter fatigue and contest visibility is apparent. Racial differences in roll-off have implications for the responsiveness of public officials and the creation of single-member districts.