Gender and Party Duopoly in a Small State: Ballot Position Effects under the Single Transferable Vote in Malta, 1947–2008

Abstract

Research on preference voting systems seems to indicate that where voters are allowed to choose among a party's candidates, the order in which candidates are listed on the ballot has an effect on the number of nominative votes they receive. This study of the 16 Maltese elections of 1947–2008 shows that being listed first on the ballot is a distinct electoral advantage. The analysis implies that complex voting systems are particularly vulnerable to position effects, even when there is a high degree of intra-party competition in small-size electoral districts. It also suggests that policy makers should pay more attention to ballot format design in order to mitigate order effects, even in a small country like Malta.