TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

State Law Gives GOP Top Spot On Ballot

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: November 1, 2008

TAMPA - Tuesday's general election includes Republicans, Democrats and a variety of third-party competitors.

One thing the contests will have in common, though: The Republican's name will be listed first on all of the partisan races.

That's because the order is determined by a half-century-old state law that says candidates in the same political party as the governor are entitled to top billing on the ballot.

By law, the party that came in second during the last gubernatorial race is second on the ballot. Independent and third-party candidates are placed in the order they are certified.

Eric Jotkoff, a spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party, said he doesn't believe the second-place billing of Democrats on the ballot will make a difference in the outcome.

"In this election, I think the majority of voters in the state are more concerned with the candidates and the issues than where their names appear on the ballot," he said.

Still, some say it could be a potential handicap for either major political party.

There have been studies indicating that there is a statistical benefit to a top listing, but in most cases the difference is slight, said Darryl Paulson, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.

"In a really close election, it could be enough to skew the outcome," Paulson said.

In 2006, New Hampshire's Supreme Court threw out a similar law after determining it gave incumbents an unfair advantage. In that state, incumbents were listed first.

Different states have different ways of deciding which names go first. Some states list names on the ballot alphabetically. Others alternate them.

"Some even decide with a coin toss," said Kay Stimson, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Secretaries of States. "The process varies greatly from state to state."

If Florida Democrats view the lineup as a disadvantage, they have themselves to blame.

The law, which dates to 1949, was passed in the heyday of the state's Democrat-controlled Legislature, when the party also held a firm grip on the governor's mansion.

Since Jeb Bush was elected governor in 1998, though, GOP candidates have gotten top billing on the ballot in races from the president to county commissions.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT