---
title: "Split Ticket Voting — AP Gov Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "Split ticket voting means picking candidates from different parties on one ballot. It signals weak party loyalty and helps produce divided government in AP Gov."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-gov/key-terms/split-ticket"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US Government"
unit: "Unit 5"
---

# Split Ticket Voting — AP Gov Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

Split ticket voting is when a voter chooses candidates from more than one political party on the same ballot (for example, a Republican for president and a Democrat for Senate), showing individualized, candidate-centered choices rather than uniform party loyalty.

## What It Is

Split ticket voting happens when you vote for candidates from different parties for different offices on the same ballot. Maybe you pick the Democratic presidential candidate but the Republican running for governor. Instead of treating the ballot as one big party decision, the voter evaluates each race separately.

In [AP Gov](/ap-gov "fv-autolink") terms, split ticket voting is the flip side of **straight ticket voting**, which the CED defines as voting for all of one party's candidates on a ballot. Split ticket behavior has grown since the late 20th century alongside [candidate-centered campaigns](/ap-gov/key-terms/candidate-centered-campaigns "fv-autolink") and weakening party loyalty. Voters increasingly respond to individual candidates, their images, and their media coverage rather than to a party label. The big structural consequence is divided government, where one party controls the presidency and another controls one or both chambers of Congress. That only happens because enough voters split their tickets.

## Why It Matters

Split ticket voting lives in **[Unit 5](/ap-gov/unit-5 "fv-autolink"): Political Participation, Topic 5.1 (Voting Rights and Models of [Voting Behavior](/ap-gov/key-terms/voting-behavior "fv-autolink"))**. It directly supports learning objective **AP Gov 5.1.B**, which asks you to describe different models of voting behavior. The CED names straight ticket voting explicitly, and split ticket voting is the contrast case you need to explain what happens when voters don't follow party-line behavior. It also connects voting behavior to bigger system-level outcomes. When you explain why divided government exists, or why parties have lost their grip on voters, split ticket voting is the mechanism doing the work. That makes it a bridge between Unit 5 (how individuals vote) and Unit 2 (how divided control shapes policymaking).

## Connections

### Straight ticket voting (Unit 5)

These two are mirror images. Straight ticket means voting for every candidate from one party; split ticket means mixing parties across offices. The CED lists straight ticket voting in 5.1.B, so split ticket is your go-to example of what declining [party loyalty](/ap-gov/key-terms/party-loyalty "fv-autolink") actually looks like on a ballot.

### [Divided government (Unit 2)](/ap-gov/key-terms/divided-government)

Split ticket voting is how [divided government](/ap-gov/key-terms/divided-government "fv-autolink") gets made. When millions of voters pick a president from one party and a member of Congress from the other, you end up with gridlock, more vetoes, and tougher confirmation fights. It's a clean cause-and-effect chain from individual ballots to institutional conflict.

### [Australian ballot (Unit 5)](/ap-gov/key-terms/australian-ballot)

The secret ballot, printed by the government and listing all candidates from all parties, is what makes ticket splitting physically possible. Before it, parties handed out their own pre-marked ballots, so splitting your ticket was hard and your vote wasn't private.

### [Media Coverage (Unit 5)](/ap-gov/key-terms/media-coverage)

Candidate-centered campaigns run through the media, not the party machine. When voters get to know individual candidates through TV, debates, and [social media](/ap-gov/key-terms/social-media "fv-autolink"), they judge people instead of party labels, and that's exactly the mindset that produces split tickets.

## On the AP Exam

Split ticket voting most often shows up in multiple-choice questions about Topic 5.1, usually as a scenario question. You'll get a description of a voter's behavior ("a voter chooses a Democrat for governor and a Republican for state senate") and need to identify it as split ticket voting, or distinguish it from straight ticket, retrospective, prospective, or rational choice voting. It's also a strong piece of evidence for free-response questions about consequences of weakening political parties or causes of divided government. No released FRQ has required the term verbatim, but it's exactly the kind of specific, accurate mechanism that earns explanation points when an FRQ asks why divided government occurs or how candidate-centered politics changed elections.

## split ticket vs Straight ticket voting

Straight ticket voting means choosing every candidate from a single party down the whole ballot, which is what strong partisans do. Split ticket voting means mixing parties across offices on the same ballot. Easy memory hook: straight = one party all the way down, split = the ballot is split between parties. The CED explicitly defines straight ticket in 5.1.B, so know both and be able to tell them apart in a scenario MCQ.

## Key Takeaways

- Split ticket voting means a voter chooses candidates from more than one party for different offices on the same ballot.
- It is the opposite of straight ticket voting, which the CED defines in 5.1.B as voting for all candidates from one party.
- Widespread split ticket voting is the main way divided government happens, with one party winning the presidency while another wins Congress.
- The rise of candidate-centered campaigns and declining party loyalty since the late 20th century made ticket splitting more common.
- The Australian (secret) ballot made ticket splitting possible because it lists all parties' candidates on one government-printed ballot.
- On the exam, expect scenario-based MCQs where you identify a voter's described behavior as split ticket rather than straight ticket, retrospective, or prospective voting.

## FAQs

### What is split ticket voting in AP Gov?

Split ticket voting is when a voter picks candidates from different [political parties](/ap-gov/unit-5/political-parties/study-guide/WnaWYOMBmSSdKmuOFhaX "fv-autolink") for different offices on the same ballot, like a Democrat for president and a Republican for Senate. It appears in Topic 5.1 as a model of voting behavior tied to declining party loyalty.

### What's the difference between split ticket and straight ticket voting?

Straight ticket voting means choosing every candidate from one party down the whole ballot, while split ticket voting means mixing parties across races. The CED (5.1.B) defines straight ticket explicitly, and split ticket is its opposite.

### Does split ticket voting cause divided government?

Yes, it's the main mechanism. When enough voters choose a president from one party and members of Congress from the other, control of government gets split between the parties, which leads to gridlock and more conflict between branches (a Unit 2 connection).

### Is split ticket voting the same as being an independent voter?

No. An independent is someone who doesn't identify with a party, while split ticket voting is a behavior on a specific ballot. Registered partisans can split their tickets too if they prefer the other party's candidate in a particular race.

### Why has split ticket voting become more common?

Candidate-centered campaigns, media-driven elections, and weakening party loyalty since the late 20th century pushed voters to judge individual candidates instead of party labels. The Australian secret ballot is the structural foundation that lets voters split in the first place.

## Related Study Guides

- [5.1 Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behaviour](/ap-gov/unit-5/voting-rights-models-voting-behavior/study-guide/cKkV1BY3cEITMpgmsPws)

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