Bizarre voting patterns in the past

[jimrtex]

perhaps the most bizarre voting pattern though is that of Alachua county, Florida's top 3 candidates were this:

Hoover (Republican) - 35.01%
Thomas (Socialist) - 32.18%
Foster (Communist) - 30.15%

Dave Leip explained that Florida voters cast their votes for individual electors (if a state had N electors, a voter could vote for N of the candidates listed on the ballot).  Traditionally, when such a system is used, the vote total of the leading elector candidate of a party slate is the one that is reported.  In Alachua County, the ballot layout was confusing or unconventional such that many voters voted for some of the wrong party candidates.  So where a voter might be expecting the following electoral slate (all GOP candidates):

George Washington (GOP)
John Adams (GOP)
Thomas Jefferson (GOP)

the ballot had:

James Madison (GOP)
James Monroe (Communist)
John Q Adams (Socialist)

I don't know the ballot details, but it is quite possible that Hoover's name did not appear on the ballot, and possibly the party affiliation.  Or maybe it was just confusing (like the butterfly ballot of 2000).  So many voters intending to vote the GOP slate accidentally voted for a Communist and a Socialist.  Each had the high total for his respective party, and it is this number that is reported.  The fact that there was small dropoffs indicates that a small percentage of the voters knew the correct elector names.

Note that other states have used similar systems in the past which in the case of close elections has resulted in election of electors from different parties.  (the split in Alabama's 1960 electoral votes was a result of such a system.  Electors were chosen as individuals in the Democrat primary.  In the general election, a vote was cast for the party slate.  5 were pledged to the national party and voted for JFK, while 6 were unpledged and voted for HF Byrd.  Arguably, popular votes for the Democrat slate should not be counted as being popular votes for JFK, or only partially so.   If this interpretation is used then Nixon won the national popular vote in 1960 but lost the electoral vote.

[jimrtex]

Jefferson county, Iowa. I found this extremely bizzare.

The following totals are for candidates that are not members of the Republican, Democrat, Green or Reform parties.

2000 - 16.3% - Other
1996 - 22.8% - Other
1992 - 23.9% - Other

I don't know what's been going on over in Jefferson Co. Iowa these past three elections. It's a recent occurance, too. If you go back to elections in '88, '84, '80, '76...the "other" vote in the county usually doesn't exceed 2%.

Mum's the word.

Fairfield, the county seat, is also the location of Maharishi University of Management (and more restaurants per capita than San Francisco).  Two miles north is the newly incorporated Maharishi Vedic City.

Check up On City Council

The "other" votes were likely for the Natural Law candidate.

[jimrtex]

Not bizarre, but interesting is Clayton County, Georgia.

It was carried by Wallace, Reagan, GHW Bush, and Kerry.

In 1980, it was one of 13 counties carried by Reagan.  In 2004 it was one of 26 counties carried by Kerry.

1932: 97% FDR
1960: 67% JFK
1964: 64% Goldwater
1968: 50% Wallace, 35% Nixon, 15% HHH
1972: 86% Nixon
1976: 62% Carter
1980: 50% Reagan 46% Carter
1984: 73% Reagan
1988: 65% Bush
1992: 45% Clinton, 41% Bush, 14% Perot
1996: 56% Clinton, 37% Cole, 6% Perot
2000: 65% Gore
2004: 70% Kerry