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Evidence on voter preferences from unrestricted choice referendums

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  • Randall Holcombe
  • Lawrence Kenny

Abstract

From 1939 to 1968 Florida used a unique referendum system to set property tax rates for public school operating expenditures at the median millage rate selected by voters. These referendums revealed the entire distribution of voter preferences, which is not possible in the standard up or down referendum. We are the first to use the Florida referendum data. The form of the ballot played an important role in how people voted. Voting machine elections were much more likely than paper ballots to result in rejections of the recommendations of school boards, and produced much greater dispersion of expressed preferences. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

Suggested Citation

  • Randall Holcombe & Lawrence Kenny, 2007. "Evidence on voter preferences from unrestricted choice referendums," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 197-215, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:131:y:2007:i:1:p:197-215
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-006-9113-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Randall Holcombe & Lawrence Kenny, 2008. "Does restricting choice in referenda enable governments to spend more?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 87-101, July.
    2. Agranov, Marina & Palfrey, Thomas R., 2015. "Equilibrium tax rates and income redistribution: A laboratory study," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 45-58.
    3. Paul N. Thompson & Joseph Whitley, 2017. "The effect of school district and municipal government financial health information on local tax election outcomes: evidence from fiscal stress labels in Ohio," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 265-288, March.
    4. Richard J. Cebula & Joshua C. Hall & Maria Y. Tackett, 2017. "Non-public competition and public school performance: evidence from West Virginia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(12), pages 1185-1193, March.
    5. R. Isaac & Douglas Norton, 2013. "Endogenous institutions and the possibility of reverse crowding out," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 253-284, July.
    6. Sin, Hwa-Young & Heo, Eunnyeong & Yi, Sul-Ki & Kim, Jihyo, 2010. "South Korean citizen's preferences on renewable energy support and cooperation policy for North Korea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 1379-1389, June.

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