Split-ticket voting: An analysis of the 1980, 1984, and 1988 elections

This thesis examines one aspect of the decline in partisanship--split-ticket voting. Vote choices in three presidential elections--1980, 1984, and 1988--were analyzed. Split-ticket voting was examined among four groups in the voting population: race, region, age, and social class. There were only limited differences in the inclination to vote split-tickets among the groups analyzed. Incumbency at the House and Senate level was considered to be a viable factor which increased split-ticket voting. The factor of incumbency did encourage split-ticket voting in House races. However, it was not as significant a factor in Senate races.