Does The Taller Presidential Election Candidate Have an Advantage?
A Statistical Analysis of Voting Bias Toward Taller Presidential Election Candidates
Jared Causey
Online MBA Student
E.J. Ourso College of Business
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA
Abstract
After analyzing each presidential election in United States history, a Texas Tech University researcher concluded that a slight bias toward taller presidential candidates exists among the voting population. His claim was based on the theory that through evolution, humans developed a bias toward taller and stronger leaders due to their ability to provide protection. The researcher purports that this bias still exists. In order to test his theory, I collected data regarding candidate height from every United States presidential election with such information readily available. Of the 53 presidential elections at issue, I found the proportion of elections won by the taller candidate to be slightly above 50 percent, suggesting that there is, in fact, a bias toward the taller candidate.
Introduction
Research suggests that throughout modern and ancient cultures, selection of leaders with more dominant physical traits is prevalent. However, the collective process that leads a voter to choose one candidate over another in a presidential election can depend on a number of variables. Is it then equally likely for a presidential candidate shorter than his opponent to be elected? Or is there truly a “height factor” bias that leads a greater proportion of people to instinctively elect a presidential candidate taller than his opponent?
In an article published on www.livescience.com, author Remy Melina asserts that the American voting population “likes [its] presidents tall.” To substantiate her claim, she references a study conducted by Texas Tech
