Easy as ABC: voters in England tend to pick names nearer top of ballot, data suggests
Summary
An analysis of recent local elections in England shows that candidates with surnames near the start of the alphabet tend to get more votes than those listed later. This "alphabet effect" means candidates listed first on their party's ballot often outperform their colleagues with surnames later in the alphabet.Key Facts
- In wards with three candidates from one party, 65% of those listed first by surname got the most votes within their party.
- Only 11% of candidates listed third (with surnames later in the alphabet) topped their party's votes.
- The Reform party showed the strongest link between surname order and election success, with 74% of early-alphabet candidates winning most votes.
- The Green party and Labour also displayed this alphabet voting effect but to a lesser degree.
- Candidates and election experts suggest ballots should list names grouped by party to avoid confusing voters.
- Some successful candidates say they did not believe the order of names affected their votes, while others think it might influence close races.
- Randomizing the order of candidates on ballots is one proposed way to make voting fairer.
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