Please Vote!

Today is Election Day! Polls have been open since 6AM.

It's 11 AM - have you voted?

Does ballot position matter? Or lawn signs? Or endorsements?

I think this is an interesting question. Let's say you are a voter who has researched all the candidates, you know what each candidate stands for, and before you go into the voting booth (or vote by mail or early vote), you know who you are voting for. Then, I think the above factors won't influence you.

However, let's say you are a voter who is voting for "top of the ballot" election races, and then you realize "oh! there's something about a school board" all the way at the bottom. And you have no idea who these people are?! This is where I think name recognition matters because of the familiarity heuristic, derived from the availability heuristic, i.e. you are influenced by what you easily remember. 

But these factors really shouldn't matter, right? This is an unpaid, volunteer position, and I am running a $0 campaign which aligns with my fiscal philosophy. What do lawn signs or mailers tell you about me except my name? Over the last 8.5 years, I have done my homework to become a well educated school board member, read the reports and think about the data so that I can ask the right questions to ensure the Hillsborough school district is well run.

Thank you for your vote and your support.