The short ballot movement was a
progressive era
The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...
movement to reduce the number of local elected officials in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The reformers advocated only high-profile "top of the ticket" positions should be elected, with all other officials being appointed.
Historical Context
The United States has a high number of elected positions. The number of elected officials at the state and local level increased towards middle of the 19th century with the growth of
Jacksonian democracy
Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, And ...
. Making these positions elected was a reform designed to decrease the
spoils system
In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward ...
of partisan appointments and increase government accountability to the people.
The increasing list of positions resulted in the "long ballot". For example, by 1911 a voter in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
would be deciding on 74 different elected offices for state, county, and city on the same ballot every two years. Critics argued that these officials performed obscure roles in government and resulted in
voter apathy
In political science, voter apathy is a lack of interest among voters in the elections of representative democracies. Voter apathy or lack of interest is often cited as a cause of low turnout among eligible voters in jurisdictions where vot ...
. The average voter could not make an informed decision on each individual appearing on the ballot. Long ballots contributed to citizens not voting, voting randomly, or voting on purely partisan lines. This had the effect of decreasing government effectiveness and accountability.
Short terms of office common at the time, normally only one or two years, made the problem worse. A common additional reform was to increase the length of terms of office of elected officials and stagger elections. The reform was also frequently combined with strengthening the power of the state governor and the streamlining of state government into executive departments.
National Short Ballot Organization
The National Short Ballot Organization was founded to advance the cause. The organization's president and leading national advocate was US President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, and its leadership included noted progressive like
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
(the American novelist),
Henry Jones Ford,
Ben B Lindsey,
John Ames Mitchell
John Ames Mitchell (January 17, 1845 – June 29, 1918) was an American publisher, architect, artist and novelist. He was co-founder, editor, and publisher of the original ''Life'' magazine, in which he was a contributing artist, and the au ...
,
William U'Ren
William Simon U'Ren (January 10, 1859 – March 8, 1949) was an American lawyer and political activist. U'Ren promoted and helped pass a corrupt practices act, the presidential primary, and direct election of U.S. senators. As a progressive, U'R ...
, and
William Allen White
William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for middle America.
At a 1937 ...
.
Presidential short ballot
The most successful aspect of the movement was the adoption of the short ballot for presidential elections. Due to the
electoral college in the United States voters do not directly vote for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
but instead vote for electors. The names of the electors are no longer printed on the ballot for presidential elections in a presidential short ballot, the presidential candidate's name is a short form for picking the electors that have been decided by party officials.
[{{Cite journal, last=Albfirst=Spencer D., date=October 1940, title=The Presidential Short Ballot, url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/the-presidential-short-ballot/7D7D359884C5DE0EB769436EFAA40307, journal=American Political Science Review, language=en, volume=34, issue=5, pages=955–959, doi=10.2307/1949218, jstor=1949218, s2cid=146952353 , issn=1537-5943]
See also
*
Electoral reform in the United States
Electoral reform in the United States refers to efforts to change American elections and the electoral system used in the United States.
Most elections in the U.S. select one person; elections with multiple candidates selected by proportional ...
*
List of U.S. statewide elected officials
This is a list of U.S. statewide elected executive officials. These state constitutional officers have their duties and qualifications mandated in state constitutions. This list does not include those elected to serve in non-executive branches of g ...
References
Electoral reform in the United States
Progressive Era in the United States
Progressivism in the United States