U.S. split ticket voting districts 1900-2020

In the 2020 U.S. election, only 3.7 percent of voting districts in the United States voted for a candidate from one party for President, and a candidate from a different party for the House of Representatives.

Split ticket voting

In the United States, split-ticket voters are those votes for candidates from different political parties when multiple offices are being decided on a single ballot. Conversely, single-ticket or straight-ticket voters are those who vote for candidates from the same political party for every office. It is typical of U.S. politics to have multiple elections on the same day. An example would be a voter who votes for a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, and the Democratic candidate for President. Massachusetts for example, is thought of as being a strong-hold for the Democratic Party in national elections, but elected a Republican governor in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, and 2018.

Recent history

There has been a dramatic decline in split-ticket voting in recent years, which is thought to be a result of the growing division and partisanship in U.S. politics. In 2020, only 16 of the 435 congressional districts in the country split their tickets between Democratic and Republican candidates. While 41 percent of voters in the U.S. identify as political independents, motivating issues such as gun control, abortion rights, immigration and the state of democracy have become increasingly entrenched and associated with one political party over the other.