Voters who use the straight party voting option (SPVO) are more likely than those who do not to roll off when voting for nonpartisan offices and ballot questions. Previous research theorizes that this difference is due to voter error, as individuals fail to understand that they must still complete nonpartisan questions after selecting the straight party option. Using cast vote records from South Carolina's 2018 general election, we find such nonpartisan roll-off is intentional and not in error as relatively few voters roll off all nonpartisan items. Our analysis of cast vote records also shows SPVO voters consistently behave differently than non-SPVO voters. Compared with other voters, SPVO voters roll off more frequently on nonpartisan offices with lower campaign spending and more frequently on ballot questions preceded by a larger number of nonpartisan items. These findings show SPVO voters behave differently than others when interacting with the ballot and intentionally roll off nonpartisan items.
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