In 1984, many incumbent Democratic judges lost their seats in large urban counties to unknown Republican challengers because of

a. straight ticket voting.

b. the move toward two-party competitiveness.

c. gerrymandering.

d. the cyclical off-year election trend.

In 1984, many incumbent Democratic judges lost their seats in large urban counties to unknown Republican challengers because of "straight ticket voting".

Answer: Option a

Explanation:

"Straight-ticket voting" is when voters give all their votes to representative of one political party which is just reverse of "Split-ticket voting" where voters vote for multiple parties in an election. Therefore it is viewed as alternative to straight-ticket voting.

In 1984 election following are the factors which resulted into loss for Democratic judges due to straight-ticket voting:

Only when the disparity between the straight party vote for the two parties widened was the effect of straight party vote on candidate success considerable. The variation between the two parties in direct party voting forces the candidate of the minority party to pursue independent voters aggressively. A particularly strong straight-for-party vote in favor of one party can make the difference with independent voters almost impossible for a judicial candidate to make up. The body of fully independent voters most open to judicial candidates campaign efforts is quite small.