The Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil (the Registrar’s Office) made public this Wednesday the final ballot in which the 14 candidates for the presidency of the Republic of Colombia and their respective vice presidential tickets were placed. Among some of the candidates, there is rejoicing, but among others, concern, because all know that the position assigned to them can affect their aspirations in a favorable or unfavorable way.
The photographs of the candidates are distributed in a grid of four columns by four rows, the last of which is occupied only by two tickets plus the blank vote, and finally, an empty space. Since 1994, a ballot with that density had not been seen in Colombia. But all, having participated in a draw, have exactly the same opportunities.
However, in light of the so-called optical theory, there are some candidates who were favored. The easiest way to understand it is to consider the design principles of the front pages of printed newspapers: The most important news item is placed in the upper left corner of the front page, because it is the point of initial visual impact, known as the primary optical area.
This position maximizes the reader’s attention by being the first thing seen. In Western culture, people read from left to right and from top to bottom, which reinforces this behavior. Studies on the matter indicate that reading begins in the upper left corner and follows a circular trajectory.
For that reason, the upper left area is considered of greater value, followed by the upper right quadrant, while the lower parts have less visual impact.
This is how the 14 candidates were placed on the ballot
Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil showed the final ballot with 14 candidates for presidency in Colombia, thus, the ticket made up of Ivan Cepeda and Aida Quilcue would be the most favored, followed by those of Clara Lopez and Maria Consuelo del Rio; Claudia Lopez and Leonardo Huerta; and Santiago Botero and Carlos Fernando Cuevas.
They would begin to have less optical interest in the tickets of Abelardo de la Espriella and Jose Manuel Restrepo; Mauricio Liscano and Pedro de la Torre; Miguel Uribe Londoño and Luisa Fernanda Villegas; and Sondra Macollins and Leonardo Karam Helo.
In light of optical theory, those least favored due to their placement in the lower part of the ballot would be Roy Barreras and Martha Lucia Zamora; Carlos Caicedo and Nelson Javier Alarcon; Gustavo Matamoros and Mila Maria Paz Campaz; Paloma Valencia and Daniel Oviedo, Sergio Fajardo and Edna Bonilla; and Luis Gilberto Murillo and Luz Maria Zapata.
The offer is practically overwhelming, and for that reason, it is feasible that the brains of voters seek to simplify the effort and take shortcuts. Marketing manager and neuromarketing expert Juan Carlos Moreno explained in Semana magazine what he calls the “primacy bias,” which is where the voter tends to focus attention with less effort on those who appear first on the list.
“There are zones of greater visual attention that generate a natural competitive advantage,” Moreno added in that publication. For him, being placed at the top left, in the visual center, or in the first row makes it easier for the candidate to be cognitively processed quickly.
If the candidates who were placed in the lower part of the ballot consider these concepts of optical theory and neuromarketing, they will have to implement strategies to repeatedly remind their supporters of their position. All are in equal conditions, but in different positions, and that can end up meaning the presidency.