Gubernatorial Endorsements and Ballot Measure Approval

36 Pages Posted: 12 Sep 2012

Date Written: August 21, 2012

Abstract

Voters often make decisions on ballot measures with limited information. Research shows, however, that elite endorsements can help voters overcome their information deficiencies. Using survey experiments, we examine the effect of a gubernatorial endorsement on three recent ballot measures. We find that identifying the governor as a proponent of a particular measure had a significant effect on respondents’ professed support for only one of our three ballot measures: a highly-publicized health initiative in 2000 that saw elites publicly debate its merits. When voters considered lower-profile referendums on bonds supporting higher education (in 2006) and roads (in 2011), a gubernatorial endorsement proved ineffective in our experiments. Such divergent results suggest that elite endorsements, while valuable to some voters, are even more conditional than previously thought.

Keywords: Direct democracy, heuristics, elite endorsements, governor, initiative, referendum

Suggested Citation

Burnett, Craig M. and Parry, Janine, Gubernatorial Endorsements and Ballot Measure Approval (August 21, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2144966 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2144966

Craig M. Burnett (Contact Author)

Hofstra University ( email )

Hempstead, NY 11549
United States

HOME PAGE: http://people.hofstra.edu/craig_burnett

Janine Parry

University of Arkansas ( email )

Fayetteville, AR 72701
United States

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