Missouri voters have recently been observed engaging in a form of ticket splitting in which support for Republican candidates is accompanied by approval of liberal ballot measures. This study examines that phenomenon using data from the Northwest Policy and Civic Engagement Center’s exit poll of the 2024 general election, conducted in Maryville, Missouri. The data reveal a strong tendency among voters to support candidates from a single party, Democratic or Republican, yet split their votes on ballot measures aligned with opposing ideological positions. We define this behavior as Ballot Measure Ticket Splitting (BMTS): the act of casting a straight-ticket vote for candidates of one party while voting against that party’s stance on at least one ballot measure. To clarify terminology, we propose distinguishing this from traditional ticket splitting, which we relabel as Candidate Ticket Splitting (CTS). Preliminary evidence from other states suggests that BMTS is not unique to Missouri, though further research is needed to examine its causes and geographic distribution.
Casey et al. (Wed,) studied this question.