Ballot Reform as Suffrage Restriction
Evidence from Brazil's Second Republic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5777873 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel W Gingerich (0000-0001-6413-6917, University of Virginia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 920-935 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/ajps.12438 |
| OpenAlex | W2948019155 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 21 |
Few innovations in democratic institutional design are considered as fundamental as the introduction of voting through the use of a uniform, official, and secret ballot. One account claims that the official ballot liberates dependent voters from the dictates of local elites, thereby enhancing democratic competition. Another argues that in contexts of widespread illiteracy, its adoption may be tantamount to a suffrage restriction. This article adjudicates between these views by drawing upon an original data set of municipal-level voting returns from Brazil's Second Republic (1945-1964). The unique staggered rollout of the official ballot during this period permits one to assess its impact with unprecedented accuracy. The article finds that the primary consequence of ballot reform was suffrage restriction. Rather than liberating poor and dependent voters, the official ballot made it exceedingly difficult for these individuals to vote. Moreover, parliamentary debates indicate that this was an anticipated and intended effect of the reform
Electoral reform · Secret ballot · Spoilt vote · Turnout · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Political Conflict and Governance · Politics and Society in Latin America
Moving the electoral goalposts
Terra Incógnita
When Economic Elites Support Democratization
Policies Make Politicians
More Options, but Less Willing to Cast a Valid Vote
Vote Secrecy With Diverse Voters
A máquina adhemarista
As Eleições Dos Anos 1930
As Eleições Presidenciais De 1960
Buying Power
Election Logistics and Political Meddling
The American Ballot Box in the Mid-Nineteenth Century
Voting Technology, Political Responsiveness, and Infant Health
Land and Power
Politician Family Networks and Electoral Outcomes
From Open Secrets to Secret Voting
Coronelismo, enxada e voto
The effect of the secret ballot on voter turnout rates
Ignorance or Opposition? Blank and Spoiled Votes in Low-Information, Highly Politicized Environments
Protesting via the Null Ballot
How Much Should We Trust Estimates from Multiplicative Interaction Models? Simple Tools to Improve Empirical Practice
Illicit Tactics as Substitutes
From Open to Secret Ballot
The Secret Ballot and the Market for Votes at 19th-Century British Elections
Incompetence, Alienation, or Calculation
Small Aggregates, Big Manipulation
The Political Value of Land
Institutions, society or protest? Explaining invalid votes in Australian elections
Perverse Accountability
Patronage, Politics, and the Articulation of Local Community and National Society in Pre-1968 Brazil
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,83 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |