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June 2, 2008

What’s in a Candidate’s Name?

By John Thompson

RALEIGH – On the day of the 2006 North Carolina primary, staff from the N.C. Center for Voter Education stood outside a polling place in Raleigh, distributing copies of the official state voter guide for judicial elections.

One woman walked briskly toward the polling place, waving off the slim guide.  She happily informed the staff that she already knew for whom she would vote. A few minutes later, the same woman returned, proudly announcing that she had voted for women wherever they appeared on the ballot. “We need more women in government,” she said. “Women are smarter and women will sort out all the messes that men make!”

She had been especially pleased with her vote for Court of Appeals contender Kris Bailey because “she spells her name just like my daughter.” The only problem: Kris Bailey was, and always has been, a man.  Though Bailey’s Y chromosome would have been apparent had the woman bothered to skim the voter guide featuring his photo, she nonetheless exclaimed that she had been cheated and wanted to recast her vote.

While there may be wisdom in this voter’s contention that women could best solve the sundry problems caused by male politicians, her support for a slate of candidates based on gender alone is striking.  And yet, perhaps somewhat common, especially in races with little-known contenders.

This is to take nothing away from the many excellent female candidates on this or any year’s ballot.  But the fact is, in a vacuum of information on candidates, the importance of gender -- one of the few characteristics we can glean just from a name -- is amplified.

When thinking about why someone might vote based solely on gender, state Sen. Janet Cowell was reported in the Winston-Salem Journal as saying, "I think a lot of women do vote for women. If they just don't really know or can't differentiate between candidates, women will often default into voting for women."

This gender preference could sway elections, especially when it comes to down-ballot races for state courts or the Council of State where candidates have weaker name recognition. Statistically speaking, the State Board of Elections reports that female registered voters outnumber men by over half a million in North Carolina.

But what happens when two women and two men are contending in a race where gender might be the only information many voters have on the candidates?  This was the case in a May 6 primary contest for the N.C. Court of Appeals.

According to the Charlotte Observer, one of the two female candidates in the race, Janet Pueschel, “avoided the limelight during her campaign.”  Pueschel reported no money raised and declined media interviews. Though she finished last, Pueschel trailed the third-place finisher, incumbent Judge John Tyson, by only 6 percentage points.  The other woman in the race, Kristin Ruth, did actively campaign and finished second to Sam Ervin. (Some of Ervin’s success may have been due to his name, too, echoing as it does a Tar Heel political celebrity.)

The fact that Pueschel, who did not campaign at all, was able to win nearly as many votes as the incumbent who vigorously courted voters could point to an advantage for women in other down-ballot races who face male opponents this fall.

One such contest features Beth Wood in her bid to be state auditor.  Wood comfortably won her primary against Fred Aikens, claiming the widest margin of victory among all statewide down-ballot races.  But any gender boost enjoyed by Wood in her primary may be nullified by the name of her male general election opponent, Les Merritt -- also known as Leslie.

Speaking about the potential advantage of Merritt’s name, Tom Jensen, whose Public Policy Polling recently conducted a survey on the auditor’s race, said, “I didn't lend that theory much credence, but we called him Les Merritt in the poll. Next time we'll switch it to Leslie Merritt and see what difference it makes. One thing's for sure: Wood cleaned up on the female vote.”

John Thompson is the executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education, a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.