Roll-off in state court elections: The impact of the straight-ticket voting option

This article examines the impact of the presence of a straight-ticket voting option (STVO) on roll-off in judicial elections, including elections for state supreme courts, intermediate courts of appeals, and urban trial courts. The core hypothesis is that STVO decreases roll-off with partisan ballots but increases roll-off when nonpartisan and retention ballots are used, and these effects should be stronger for elections to less visible, lower-level courts. The analysis finds some support for the hypothesis for state supreme courts but not for the two types of lower courts. It is unclear why there is this inconsistency.