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Selected Works of Christopher Shortell
Article
Voting in Trial Court Elections: Ballot Roll-Off in Partisan, Nonpartisan, and Retention Elections in High-Population Counties
Justice System Journal (2013)
  • Christopher Shortell, Portland State University
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Abstract
Most of the empirical research on judicial elections is focused on state courts of last resort. It is at the trial court level, though, that most judicial elections take place. Using an original data set of over 1,100 trial court elections in 19 different jurisdictions, this article highlights the differences in voter participation between trial court elections and appellate court elections. As with appellate courts, contested partisan elections produce the lowest roll-off, all things being equal. At the same time, retention elections result in lower roll-off under the conditions most likely to occur in trial court elections.
Keywords
  • Trial court elections,
  • Jurisdictions,
  • Voter participation,
  • Ballot roll-off
Disciplines
Publication Date
December, 2013
DOI
10.1080/0098261X.2013.10768034
Citation Information
Christopher Shortell. “Voting in Trial Court Elections: Ballot Roll-Off in Partisan, Nonpartisan, and Retention Elections in High-Population Counties.” 2013. Justice System Journal 34 (2):153-170.