Consequences of Top-two Primaries for Women Candidates and Voters

• In Event: Politics of the Primary: How Electoral Institutions Affect Voters and Candidates

Abstract

In 2008 and 2012, Washington and California adopted a Top-Two Primary system. Under this new system, all candidates (regardless of party) run in a single primary, with the top two vote-getters moving on to the general election. Despite claims that the new system would produce more moderate candidates, evidence of actual moderation is sparse. Indeed, recent research suggests that an unintended consequence of this system is depressed turnout among orphaned voters (voters faced with two out-partisan candidates) in general elections. Using data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we ask whether women’s presence on the ballot can help counteract this effect. Drawing on the literature on gender-affinity effects, we analyze whether orphaned women voters are less likely to undervote when given the opportunity to vote for a female candidate. We further analyze whether gender serves as a meaningful cue in vote choice decisions in contexts where voters must select between candidates from the same party. Our findings have implications for the literatures on women and politics, electoral politics, and the design of electoral institutions.

Authors

• Katelyn E. Stauffer, University of South Carolina

• Colin Andrew Fisk, Indiana University